Tag: journalism

REVIEW: Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus

REVIEW: Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It’s the last semester of her senior year, and Brynn is back at Saint Ambrose, the last place she expected to be. But her return could help her out of a jam.

At her last school, a malicious prank left Brynn cut from her school newspaper job and ripped away any credibility she had earned for journalism. But now she’s an intern for a true crime show, and she’s pitched them a story centered at Saint Ambrose.

Brynn’s favorite teacher was murdered on school grounds. Three students found him, including Brynn’s former best friend. But the investigation seemed flimsy, and the crime was eventually blamed on a “drifter.”

So while Brynn is back at Saint Ambrose, she’s determined to find out the truth. And if she gets some bonus points for college by sharing the story with the world, all the better.

Review

This was twisty! From start to finish. Brilliantly plotted. The two storytellers really made this come together.

I was sure I knew what was going on at least 4 different times – but every reveal spun the story in a different direction.

When I was a teen, I voraciously read books by Lois Duncan. And the whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking about Duncan’s books and what I loved about them. Teen me would have been a HUGE Karen McManus fan. I loved this book and the sense that I was tailing a young sleuth looking for the truth while I read.

Fans of McManus’s previous work – One of Us is Lying, Two Can Keep a Secret, etc. – should absolutely pick this up. If you enjoy a tightly plotted mystery with teen protagonists, you will love this! (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

REVIEW: Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Vlad has been part of the Bromance Book Club for years. The men in the group are his closest friends. But watching them with their wives and girlfriends is tearing him apart. He longs for that sort of love with his wife, Elena. But no one else knows theirs has always been a marriage of convenience. And now Elena wants to end it and go back to Russia. Alone.

But when Vlad is seriously injured in a hockey game, Elena is the only family close enough to help him with his recovery. But being in close quarters with him makes everything more difficult. Each of them is longing for something they think is out of reach. Thankfully, Vlad has the guys in his book club to help him fight for his marriage before it’s too late.

Review

I enjoy any book where these guys are together. I love the men of the Bromance Book Club – the ways they harass each other, the ways they call each other out, and the ways they drop everything to help one another.

The romance didn’t quite click for me in this one like some of the other books in the series. (The Bromance Book Club (♥♥♥♥♥) and Undercover Bromance are my favorites!) It’s a bit of the fake relationship trope, but it’s even more complicated. Vlad and Elena each want to be together. But they make bad assumptions and don’t communicate which causes a lot of trouble.

Vlad’s writing was a nice piece of the plot. I enjoyed the guys weighing in on his story and how Vlad’s book tied into his personal life. Elena’s work – the investigating, the danger – took me by surprise at the end. I would have liked it if this was more concretely explored throughout the book, given just a bit bigger presence so it felt earned when it came to the forefront towards the end of the story. That said, though, I always enjoy a Bromance story, and I hope there are many more to come in the future. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

 

BONUS REVIEW: The Nobodies by Liza Palmer

BONUS REVIEW: The Nobodies by Liza Palmer

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Joan was 17, she broke her first big story. So she skipped college and went straight into journalism, expecting it to be her career for the rest of her life. But in the current market, more and more newspapers are closing, and layoffs are happening. Joan’s been job hunting now for nine months.

It’s making her question everything. Did she peak too early? Is she even a good writer? She’s questioning her identity and her future. At 36 years old she is living at home again. Joan needs to find a job!

One of the many jobs she applies for is a junior copywriter position at a tech start up called Bloom. It’s staffed by 20-somethings and hits many of the start-up cliches – fancy in-house coffees, open work spaces, and quarterly Q&A meetings overflowing with beer and pizza.

But Joan’s been in the real world long enough to take Bloom in with a more critical eye. What do they even do? Why is every speech a set of rehearsed statements, tons of words that say nothing? Maybe Bloom is hiding something. Maybe Joan’s days as a journalist aren’t over after all!

Review

This story tries to be both an exploration of a character’s identity crisis and also a suspenseful look at a company that might be hiding some big secret. I’m not sure it did well on either of those goals

I was more interested in the tech side of the story. And I enjoyed it. The crew Joan builds at Bloom is fun. The investigation was a fun story line. And it’s not over. There will be a sequel that will have to deal with what is going on at the start up.

The identity struggle and introspection that Joan is going through makes complete sense. She’s having something of a mid-life crisis. But her self-abuse and self-reflection bogged the story down. I didn’t  really like Joan, so I also didn’t sympathize with her. I generally love a good identity story, but this didn’t click for me.

Joan’s co-workers and her family were my only favorite parts of the story. I’m not sure if the secondary characters will be a big enough draw to get me to try out the sequel. (Language, off-page sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: Confessions of a Red Herring by Dana Dratch

REVIEW: Confessions of a Red Herring by Dana Dratch

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Alexandra Vlodnochek gave up her job as a reporter to pursue a higher paying job at the Coleman and Walters PR firm. No one told her that the new job included expectations that she would take a client up to a hotel room. She thought her loud refusal might get her fired. But she didn’t expect it would get her accused of murder.

Now Alex is trying to clear her name using her investigative reporting skills. But her former coworkers have drunk the Kool-aid and are sharing the company lies with the press. Someone has stolen her identity and is trying to ruin her financially. The one boss who isn’t dead has backed her into a corner where her chances of finding another job that doesn’t involve cleaning toilets are slim. And if that’s not enough to juggle, Alex’s baby brother moves in with his fiancée (who seems to be running a shady business out of Alex’ house) and their un-housebroken puppy. Alex is out of money and out of patience with the hatchet job her former employer is trying to pull on her. She won’t let her entire life be destroyed without a fight.

Review

The sheer volume of things piling onto Alex was overwhelming. It was almost painful to read one more disaster, one more lie, one more manipulation, one more attack on her character.

But Alex was never facing all of that alone. Her family really steps up to help her out in their own unique ways. I really enjoyed the whole cast in this book. Some of the characters are mainly “off stage,” but still bring interesting tidbits to the story. I cannot wait for more books to get to know some of these other characters better.

The mystery wasn’t a big surprise. But I thoroughly enjoyed watching Alex work things out. There were some fantastic, triumphant moments for her that I loved! There were some “sideline scenes” where Alex was trying to earn some money to stay afloat that were enjoyable, even though they had little to nothing to do with solving the murder. Sometimes such things can be aggravating and distracting, but this time they were fun scenes that helped cut some of the tension of the larger story.

This is a fun, sassy story with great characters. I will absolutely keep up with this series in the future! (Some language.)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½