Relativity by Cristin Bishara

Relativity by Cristin Bishara
"If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities. Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?"- summary from Amazon

This was a good book. It didn't necessarily jump out at me as being particularly amazing but it was an intriguing concept and Bishara's prose is compelling. I may not have always understood the more science-y aspects of the novel, but I don't think that's necessarily a problem when reading this book.

Ruby is a great main character and she has this wonderful emotional arc throughout the book. Going into each of these worlds and seeing the differences and having to adjust to each one, even for a small amount of time, brings out layers to her characterization and having to deal with her feelings in a brutal fashion. It all leads up to the climax, which Bishara wrote really well and it brings things full circle. It's an emotionally satisfying ending, though I don't want to give too much away.

Overall, a promising debut and I'm looking forward to seeing what Bishara writes next.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Demon Eyes by Scott Tracey

Demon Eyes by Scott Tracey
"After destroying the demon Lucien, Braden—son of Belle Dam’s most powerful warlock, Jason Thorpe—doesn’t need the power of his witch eyes to see that everything in his life is turning against him: friends, family, and even his visions. When disturbing nightmares of Lucien’s return haunt him, Braden discovers that the simmering feud between Belle Dam’s two witch dynasties is fast approaching its explosive boiling point.

While struggling to come to terms with his attraction to Trey, Catherine Lansing’s son who should be his mortal enemy, Braden senses a diabolical plan has been set in motion. Young women are disappearing from town, and as he investigates, Braden is forced to explore the dangerous unknown power within himself. But when the truth about his family is revealed, Braden must pay a terrible price."- summary from Amazon

It has been a long time since I originally read Witch Eyes so it was a little weird going back into the series two years later in anticipation of the final book being released. But Tracey does a good job of calling back to the events of the first book to refresh the reader a bit. I still really love the whole gay male witches concept because it's awesome and sexy and the world needs more of them in books. It's also just refreshing too because the gay aspect is very much in the background; the main focus is on the big family feud going on in the town and all the fallout from that. It's just that there's occasionally some passionate kissing between two boys while this is going on, and some flirting with Braden from a straight character. So it's nice to read a book where sexuality isn't the only issue going on.

Tracey sets up a fantastically dark new adventure for Braden with some interesting reveals and a crazy climax that makes me all very excited for the final book and see how it all turns out. There's some wonderful humor (mainly sarcasm) in these books too which is always a plus for me, especially when dealing with paranormal stories.

Overall, a great follow-up to Witch Eyes, and I can't wait to read the final book!

FTC: Received ARC from BEA. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney

Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney
"Seventeen-year-old Julien is a romantic—he loves spending his free time at the museum poring over the great works of the Impressionists. But one night, a peach falls out of a Cezanne, Degas ballerinas dance across the floor, and Julien is not hallucinating.

The art is reacting to a curse that trapped a beautiful girl, Clio, in a painting forever. Julien has a chance to free Clio and he can't help but fall in love with her. But love is a curse in its own right. And soon paintings begin to bleed and disappear. Together Julien and Clio must save the world's greatest art . . . at the expense of the greatest love they've ever known."- summary from Amazon

I really enjoyed Whitney's debut and have been meaning to read more from her since then, so I was excited to read this book. I wasn't as enthralled with it as I was with her debut unfortunately. But I kept on reading because there are a few mysteries at the center of the book, and a very cute romance too. But my overall impression was that it was just an okay book, an easy way to pass the time.

I did like the focus on artwork and learning more about it through reading this book (and the author's note at the end). It's not something you see often in YA, so it was a nice departure from the usual fare. Whitney also ventures into the genre of magical realism and it's an interesting take on it.

Overall, this book was okay, but I'm not going to give up on Whitney. I definitely want to go back, read the books I've missed, and keep an eye out for her future books. She's a wonderful writer, but this book just didn't do it for me.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The S Word by Chelsea Pitcher

The S Word by Chelsea Pitcher
"Lizzie wasn't the first student at Verity High School to kill herself this year. But the difference is, she didn't go quietly.

First it was SLUT scribbled all over the school's lockers. But one week after Lizzie Hart takes her own life, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it--in Lizzie's own looping scrawl. Photocopies of her diary show up in the hands of her classmates. And her best friend, Angie, is enraged.

Angie had stopped talking to Lizzie on prom night, when she caught Lizzie in bed with her boyfriend. Too heartbroken to let Lizzie explain the hookup or to intervene when Lizzie gets branded Queen of the Sluts and is cruelly bullied by her classmates, Angie left her best friend to the mercy of the school, with tragic results.

But with this new slur, Angie's guilt transforms into anger that someone is still targeting Lizzie even after her death. Using clues from Lizzie's diary and aided by the magnetic, mysterious Jesse, Angie begins relentlessly investigating who, exactly, made Lizzie feel life was no longer worth living. And while she might claim she simply wants to punish Lizzie's tormentors, her anguish over abandoning and then losing her best friend drives Angie deeper into the dark, twisted side of Verity High--and she might not be able to pull herself back out."- summary from Amazon

I was a little bit underwhelmed with this book. I really felt like the mystery was just tacked on to keep the plot moving. It never really felt like a part of the overall story, but it was enough to keep me reading to the end which did have a very interesting twist. But still, I don't think it's enough to really recommend the book.

I honestly don't know what else to say about this book. I don't really have feelings about it in either direction, so it's hard to really talk about it in any critical way. I didn't really feel connected to the characters or the situation, nor did I feel like I got to know any of them terribly well. It was just an okay book, bordering on below average.

Overall, I feel like there are better books out there that deal with this whole slut shaming thing much better than this book did. I'm sure I've read some but I can't think of any right now. Has anyone else read this book? What did you all think about it?

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
"Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen."- summary from Amazon

I'm very behind on this series. I received ARCs for the first two books but couldn't find the time to fit them into my schedule (and in fact, I gave Everbound to a friend since I hadn't yet read the first book when I got the sequel ARC). Cue a couple months ago and Brodi Ashton comes to Virginia to do a signing with Jodi Meadows and Cynthia Hand. I dig up my copy of Everneath to get it signed and begin reading it on the trip back (I also haven't read Hand's trilogy either but I had grabbed the 2nd book so couldn't start with that). I don't want to say that I became enthralled with the story but it did intrigue me enough to just keep reading to the end.

I loved Ashton's spin on mythology and the Persephone myth here. It was nice too how the book was formatted, going back and forth between present day and the past. Getting more and more of the full story as the book went on. It made for a page-turning read. Nikki is a good protagonist and Ashton did a great job showing off the back-and-forth nature of her life now. Having to come back in after 6 months of being gone and going through the experience of the Everneath obviously takes a toll. She tries to get back into her old life and routine but has to constantly worry about the countdown and leaving everybody again, so it creates this dichotomy within her.

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the romance and love triangle aspect of the book. Even though it's a big part of it (Nikki remembers herself because of thinking of Jack while in the Everneath), I just didn't feel an attachment to either guy. I don't know if that'll change with reading the sequel, but for right now, the romance aspect felt a bit tacked on and lackluster. Plus, there's the fact of the "true love" Jack and Nikki have, so it just seemed a bit much. It was nice though to get to see them interact before she's taken away as well as after so the reader really gets the full scope of their relationship.

Overall, a promising start to a trilogy and I'm excited to read the sequels!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.