Tag: teen mystery

REVIEW: My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon

REVIEW: My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon

Posted on by Jaymie

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

Summary

Hana Yang Lerner used to be an insider. She used to be a fixer. And she used to be best friends with Luce Herrera.

Now, an anonymous texter has offered Hana $5,000 to follow Luce and help her fix something. But Hana is not in the habit of being cajoled – or bribed – into doing anything. Still, she’s an outcast just trying to get though high school after a national scandal involving her family. That kind of money and the chance to see what her old friend is into is hard to ignore.

Against her instincts, Hana teams up with another old friend who seems to be working the same mystery from a different angle. But the things they discover continue to catch them by surprise.

Review

Wow, this was great! The mystery is top notch, and the reader is treated to some jaw-dropping moments. I was captivated right from the start. The voice for this is engaging and the mystery kept me zipping through, page after page.

There are some time jumps that are used to explain Hana’s history as a fixer as well as the history with Luce and other ex-friends. Hana’s family story balances out the school-related mystery as Hana tries to figure out who she is in light of the family scandal.

YA readers who love a great mystery should give this a try. I loved it, and will be thinking about it, and about some of the twists, for years to come! (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

REVIEW: Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

Posted on by Jaymie

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

Summary

Lizzie Bennet longs to become a barrister and study the law and argue cases. But as a young woman – with a mother who thinks only of seeing her daughters married – that is never going to happen. But she holds out hope that her father will hire her to be a solicitor and investigator. He’ll have to be convinced, though, so Lizzie decides she will solve (another) case to prove her ability.

There’s been a murder and an arrest. Mr. Bingley is accused of killing his brother-in-law. Lizzie hopes to convince him to hire her father’s firm to represent him. (They could use the business!) And Bingley is impressed by Lizzie. But he already has help from his good friend, Mr. Darcy. Darcy is arrogant, condescending, and dismissive of Lizzie from the start.

Darcy’s plan seems to be to present Bingley as “too good” of a person to be a murderer. But Lizzie knows the only way to truly protect Bingley is to find the real killer. And she feels she is just the person to do that.

Review

Delightful!!

I have to confess: I’ve never read – or watched – Pride and Prejudice. I’ve never been able to make myself care enough to push through the reading. I love the Sense and Sensibility movie, but I could not get into that book, either. Austen just doesn’t click for me. But I do enjoy retellings in general, as well as mysteries, so I decided to give this a try. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!

There are TONS of nods to the original plot (which I read online) with regard to the characters and relationships, but also lots of twists to keep fans engaged. But you don’t have to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy this. The author takes some liberties with the timeline (which she explains in an engaging author’s note), but it didn’t bother me in the least. I am not a purist about such things.

The mystery was fantastically twisty. I figured out part but not all of it before the end, which I enjoyed. I like both solving the puzzles and being surprised by them. And I can’t wait to read more mysteries in this series. Book 2 – Sense and Second-Degree Murder – will release in 2022 and book 3 – Manslaughter Park – will release in 2023. Mystery fans and Austen fans should be sure to pick this one up asap!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: City of Villains by Estelle Laure

REVIEW: City of Villains by Estelle Laure

Posted on by Jaymie

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

Summary

When a teenager from her high school goes missing, police intern Mary Elizabeth Heart is assigned the case. She’ll be working with one of the only other Legacies at the station, young Officer Bella Loyola.

Mally Saint was not someone to be trifled with. When her friends decided she was too bossy to be invited to their annual fairy party, she showed up anyway and let her bird, Hellion, destroy the place. Then she targeted each of her three “friends” for acts of retribution. Those girls were obviously Mary Elizabeth’s first suspects.

But when another Legacy goes missing, it seems to Mary Elizabeth and Bella that there is something larger going on than acts of revenge over a party. And this time, it’s personal to Mary Elizabeth. In fact, the police chief assigns the second case to other officers – non-Legacies who don’t take it seriously – and threatens to pull Mary Elizabeth off Mally’s case if she can’t pull it together. Mary Elizabeth is going to have to decide what is more important to her – keeping her job or protecting her found family.

Review

The reviews on Goodreads for this were less than stellar, which worried me. But I enjoyed it! It took a little while for the world building to come together for me. And some of the writing and word choices for the world were awkward, especially early on when I was trying to grasp everything. But once the system was established, it was easy to fall into the story.

I thought the set up was clever. Former magic wielders – Legacies – sharing a community with “Narrows” who are the outsiders. There are prejudices and class differences rumbling in and around the story, setting up some of the book’s conflicts. Then there was the mystery of the missing teens. I was intrigued.

In addition to the core story of missing kids and lost magic and community tragedies, there are other pieces working between and around the characters – Mary Elizabeth’s murdered family, her hero worship of the police chief who tracked their killer, sexism and discrimination between the Legacy and the Narrow, and the importance of Mary Elizabeth’s found family. For me, this wasn’t a character-driven story. I didn’t love or connect with any particular characters in a special way. I was intrigued by the mystery (although I did pick out the culprit right away) and the sleuthing of Mary Elizabeth and Bella as well as this re-imagined origin story for familiar Disney characters.

Early on it was easy to get distracted trying to figure out who each character was supposed to be in the larger Disney universe (some are more obvious than others). But it didn’t take long for me to get drawn into the story instead. I will definitely be reading book 2 to see what happens to these characters next. There are some unanswered questions at the end of this, and I am eager to see how things play out. (Some language and violence, magic, some sexual harassment/sexist workplace behavior)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

REVIEW: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Avery is doing what she can to get by. After the death of her mother, her half sister, Libby, took her in. Their mutual father is long gone. But in a couple years, Avery will finish high school, go to college for something to pay the bills, and then she can travel to her heart’s content. They may be scraping by, but Avery is making the best of things.

Then the prissy, proper, authoritarian boy shows up at her school. He can’t be much older than Avery is, but he kicks her principal out of his own office. And he tells Avery she is required to attend the reading of his late grandfather’s will.

Tobias Hawthorne, billionaire. Avery had never even heard of him. Why would she have to be at the reading of his will? Turns out, he named her heir of almost his entire estate.

To inherit, Avery has to move into Hawthorne House with Tobias Hawthorne’s family – his mother-in-law, his two daughters, and his four grandsons. But nothing is what it appears. The house is full of secret passages, and Tobias loved challenging the boys to different games. The only question is what games were in play when Tobias named Avery in his will? And what games might his family be playing to get Avery out of the way?

Review

This was fantastic! I loved almost every moment. Avery is excellent as a protagonist. She’s bright and determined, but also down to earth and relate-able. She would fit in well with the author’s other excellent characters. The four Hawthorne boys are a delight. I wanted more time to get to know each of them. I still have questions and want to know more about all four of them.

There are several mysteries at play which swirl around Avery – whispers of another girl involved with the grandsons, Avery’s connection to Tobias, the attempts to get her out of the way, and the games and puzzles in the house and on the grounds. I loved every bit of it. I would have read hundreds of pages about the house even if they had nothing to do with the main questions of the book because it was all so fascinating.

Frankly, I was disappointed with the wrap up of one of the main questions of the book. I was expecting… MORE I guess, something bigger. I went back and re-read the climax scene and the second read gave me a better sense of satisfaction, but it still wasn’t the punch I wanted. But…

The last few pages launched several new questions – or at least pulled some of the secondary questions from this novel into the spotlight. And I am SO excited to read a sequel and find out what else Tobias Hawthorne – and Jennifer Lynn Barnes – have in store for these characters! (Some language, LGBTQ+, CW: Domestic violence/abuse, grief/loss)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥= Great! Might re-read

 

REVIEW: Daphne & Velma: The Vanishing Girl by Josephine Ruby

REVIEW: Daphne & Velma: The Vanishing Girl by Josephine Ruby

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The town of Crystal Cove counts on their mysterious history (the disappearance of most of the town founders) and the Haunted Village attraction to bring tourists to town.

When a teen gets locked in an attraction at Haunted Village, and she blames ghosts, there’s tons of fresh attention on the town. Unfortunately, the girl’s story could cost Velma Dinkley’s mom her job at the Haunted Village. The Village has already taken so much from her family. So Velma is determined to get the girl, Marcy, to recant her story so Velma’s mom can get back to work.

Instead, Marcy goes missing. Daphne Blake is Marcy’s best friend. She does NOT believe the lame story that Marcy ran away to Mexico. Finding Marcy is a bigger job than Daphne can tackle on her own. But the only other person who questions the story is Velma. Maybe they could have worked together when they were 10. But the two girls have been bitter enemies for years now. Could they put aside their history to find out the truth about Marcy?

Review

This was great! I loved watching the girls work through their history as well as the mystery. Shaggy and Scooby play a role, and Fred is around, but the girls are the stars here.

I’m not certain if this is an alternate universe from the TV shows I have enjoyed for years, tracking it’s own independent course, or if it is an origin story for the Mystery Inc. gang that will develop over time. I’ll have to keep up with the series to find out. And I plan to! This was so fun.

I had thought this was going to be a graphic novel, but this is a prose novel instead. The history and angst between Daphne and Velma is a significant part of the story. It’s mostly resolved by the end, and I’m eager to see how they move forward in future books. There’s also family stuff going on for both girls that added some nice layers to the story.

The mystery was terrific. It felt like an episode of Scooby Doo in all the best ways. I’m eager to dive into book 2, The Dark Deception. A third book is currently scheduled for spring, 2021.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = Loved it! Would read again