Deadly Little Scandals

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Plot Synopsis:

Sawyer has learned the identity of her father. Now, she's put her focus on a new mystery that was introduced near the end of the first book involving the identity of a baby. While this this is going on, Sawyer and her friends are given the chance to join a secret society called the White Gloves. 

Positives:

I like that the main characters all grow and change through the book, especially Sawyer's cousin, Lily. I also like how the mystery unfolds. This book also offers an alternate time going back several years in the past. And, I feel like we're given just enough of this perspective. It's something that could have easily ended up eating up too much book time. It also helps that there's a payoff to said past storyline. 

Mixed: 

For better or worse, this book doubles down on everything from the first book, both what did work and what didn't. As I said in my review for the first book, there's a level of suspension of disbelief that's required. This book takes that to the next level. The book utilizes a lot of reveals so that we can avoid some potentially icky things (which I don't mind, but I also have to acknowledge it's mostly convenient).

Negatives:

In the first book, I found the character of Nick (I mostly refer to him as valet boy) to be a boring character. In this book, his presence mostly pisses me off. Once again, he mostly exists to be Sawyer's love interest, but his presence here honestly feels incredibly forced. It also doesn't help that because they give him more plot space in the book, other characters I liked more feel shortchanged. I also think the wrap up is rushed. There's a point where Lily decides she wants to spend time living in Sawyer's world, and let's just say I feel like the book could have built that up better. 

Final Thoughts:

I think I liked this book about the same, if not a little bit more than the first book. I think it's safe to say if the first book wasn't for you, this second book is not going to change your mind. I happen to love all of the unrealistic, ridiculous plot points the book throws at you. Not everything works, but I still had a ton of fun for the journey. 

4 / 5

Little White Lies

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Plot:

Teenage mechanic Sawyer Taft is approached by her grandmother, whom she’s never met with a proposition: Live with her for nine months and participate as a debutant, and her grandmother will pay for her college education. Sawyer agrees. She also has another motive. She wants to solve the one great mystery about her life: who is her father? Along the way, she has to navigate the ins and outs of a lifestyle she's unfamiliar with. 

Positives:

The overall mystery of who is Sawyer's father is actually fairly well put together. I can safely say I didn't entirely put it together. I liked the majority of the characters. The four main girls all felt like they had distinct personalities (something that isn't always easy for a young adult to pull off). They were also pretty well fleshed out. This is another thing that's not always easy to do, especially considering the book is told in first person perspective from Sawyer's point of view. I will get into my thoughts on how some of the male characters are written in a different section, but there are a couple I quite enjoy. One of the teenage boys is a bit of an eccentric oddball, and he's fun. One of the men Sawyer suspects could be her father is a senator, and he's actually a pretty effective villain. Finally, Swayer has a younger cousin who is a lot of fun. I appreciate it when an author knows how to write kids, and he feels accurate to how a young boy would act. The book throws several twists turns at you, and was fairly unpredictable at times, which I greatly appreciated. Finally, while this book does answer the main question, I do like that it sets up another mystery for the second book. 

Mixed:

There's definitely some suspension of disbelief to be had with the story. Part of the reason the story comes to fruition is Sawyer's relationship with her mother. There are also just things that other characters happen to know where if someone just said something, the book would probably be over in about 50 pages. For some people, this is going to be a deal-breaker. I kind of loved the really ridiculous elements, and was just along for the ride. 

Negatives: 

I mentioned in the positives that I would bring up the male characters in another section. Well, there are a few male characters in the book that feel like they needed to be fleshed out more. In particular, the other two prominent teenage boys in the story, Nick and Walker, have the personalities of cardboard. I wish the other men who are on the suspect list could have been given more to do as well. The only one who feels like he has any real character is the senator. The others are just kind of there. 

Final Thoughts:

This certainly wasn't a perfect book, but I had a lot of fun with it. If it sounds like it's up your alley, give it a read. If you read this review and thought "this sounds stupid," then I don't think this is going to be a book for you. 

3.5 / 5

Pretty Dead Queens

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Plot:

A teenage girl named Cecelia moves in with her novelist grandmother after the death of her mother. One of her classmates is soon murdered on the night of the homecoming game. The murder is reminiscent of a murder that took place in one of her grandmother's books. It also happens the murder in the book was based on a real murder that occurred during her grandmother's homecoming. Now, Cecelia finds herself drawn to solving her classmate's murder, as well as learning more about the murder from the town's history. 

Positives:

I actually really enjoy the book's overall story. I like that, at its core, there are essentially two murder mysteries happening at the same time. As the book goes on, you learn the victim wasn't particularly well-liked. Because of this, a lot of people seemed to have reason to want her dead. For the most part, I enjoyed the characters too. I won't say they are among the most complex characters I've ever come across, but they work well enough for the story they are in. There are some solid twists and turns throughout the narrative, which I largely appreciate in a mystery. 

Negatives: 

As much as I legitimately enjoyed the story the book was telling, and appreciated the twists and turns the narrative was taking, there is one major flaw that has to be addressed. The killer reveal was painfully obvious to me. There's a point where a character says something and I immediately thought: "they did it." This happens fairly early in the book, which isn't the best sign. 

Final Thoughts:

The book was a solid read that kept me engaged throughout. There were some definite stumbles here and there, but I liked it overall.

3.5 / 5

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer

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Plot Synopsis:

A woman works for an agency that deals with collecting souls to help them move on. She goes to collect the soul of a teenage boy. On paper, his death should have been due to an epileptic seizure. But, he's convinced he was murdered. Now, the woman and the teenager have to work together, along with her soon-to-be ex-husband and her mentor to get to the bottom of his death. 

Positives:

There's an idea to this world of grim reapers operating as a business. I like the perspective of the main protagonist being a grim reaper. I also kind of like the idea of her being pregnant. In a lot of ways, the relationship she has throughout the book with this lost teenage soul kind of works as a way to prepare her for being a mother. 

Mixed:

The main element I have mixed feelings about is the characters. They aren't bad characters per se, but they aren't the most engaging either. 

Negatives:

As much as I like the idea, I don't particularly care for a lot of the execution. I just don't think the world building is particularly strong. Nor do I necessarily think the mystery is anything to write home about either. I felt like I was able to catch on to the identity of the villain by about the halfway point of the book. Given that this is billed as a supernatural mystery, failing in those two elements is not a great sign.  

Final Thoughts:

I started reading this in January or February. It is now June as of the time I am writing this review, having just finished the book. It was a struggle for me, but I managed to tough it out and finish it. Given how sparse these sections I think is fairly telling. I just finished the book, and I just don't feel like I have much to say. 

2 / 5 

 

What is this blog about?

Basically, I wanted to start this blog as a way to log and review the various books I read, both in print and in audiobook format.