review: the lying game by sara shepard

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Sara Shepard’s new series starts off brilliantly with The Lying Game. From the very beginning I was hooked by the story of a murdered teen whose previously unknown identical twin infiltrates her life, discovers the murder, and works to figure out who killed Sutton. It doesn’t take Emma long to figure out that while Sutton had every advantage (especially compared to Emma who just fled foster care), her life was far from ideal. In fact, Sutton’s killer is likely one of the people she was closest to…one of her best friends or even her adoptive sister.

Told from both Emma’s and a slightly amnesiac Sutton’s perspective, The Lying Game creates an intense mystery mixed with plenty of “mean girl” high school moments that horrify and amuse. The best scenes are between Emma as Sutton and Ethan, the boy Emma would probably date if she wasn’t having to pretend she’s with Sutton’s boyfriend Garrett. When the two shared a Sylvia Plath moment, I was deliriously happy.

The next book, Never Have I Ever, is an absolute must-read as The Lying Game ended with quite the cliff-hanger!
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, HarperTeen.

review: rogue oracle by alayna williams

The premise of Rogue Oracle intrigued me: a forensic psychologist uses Tarot cards to help her figure out who the killer is. At the center of the case is the tragedy at Chernobyl, which also sparked my interest. And Rogue Oracle did have my attention for much of the book, but I started to lose interest around the time the Marshals arrived to protect Tara and Cassie. The long-winded descriptions started becoming too much; it’s well-written description, but did all these details really need to be included?

Cassie sat down on the bed and released Oscar from the backpack. The cat shook his fur out in indignation and paced across the bedspread to hop down on the floor. He began to bat at the beaded curtain. Tara began setting up Oscar’s makeshift litter box in the tiny bathroom. The broiler pan fit nicely under the sink, and the cat immediately began scratching in his oatmeal cat litter.

This really has nothing to do with the plot, so I felt that this paragraph along with a number of others could easily be cut resulting in a tightened storyline with an increased sense of urgency. They’re after a killer! The situation should be urgent, but it never seemed like time was of the essence even when Henry was threatening airport officials to try to prevent the suspect from escaping.
2/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Pocket Books.

review: a light at winter's end by julia london

While I didn’t care for Wyatt Clark when he was first introduced in Summer of Two Wishes, Julia London redeems him in A Light at Winter’s End. Wyatt is minding his own business with a fairly solitary life on his ranch when his attention is grabbed by the incredibly smoky fire started by Holly, who has returned to her childhood home after a great life upheaval. Though Holly and Wyatt aren’t interested in each other at first, Wyatt (who shares a daughter with Macy from the first book) soon becomes a friend as Holly struggles to raise her sister’s young son, who was unceremoniously abandoned when Hannah’s prescription drug abuse spiraled out of control.

A Light at Winter’s End inspires both tremendous joy and absolute heartbreak. Just as Holly becomes comfortable with her life with Mason while also forging a new relationship with Wyatt, her happiness is threatened by the reappearance of Mason’s parents. This excellently crafted novel contains well-developed characters (the scenes from their youth made it easy to understand how Holly and Hannah became who they are) and a highly emotional plot.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Pocket Books.

giveaway winners: how sweet it is

The winners of How Sweet It Is are Debs Desk, apple blossom, and Ellie. Congrats!

review: the secret lives of dresses by erin mckean

Imagine purchasing a vintage dress and learning that it has a very intriguing story that goes with it. That’s part of the premise of The Secret Lives of Dresses, the touching debut novel from blogger Erin McKean.

Orphaned as a baby and raised by her beloved grandma, Dora is a little lost. She will soon graduate from college without any real plan except to go to grad school so she can hang around her boss at the coffee shop a little longer. Dora likes Gary, but he won’t date undergrads; she isn’t even entirely sure how he feels about her because he flirts with just about everyone. Grandma Mimi has always encouraged Dora, but Dora just flounders. This story in itself is interesting enough, but The Secret Lives of Dresses really takes off when Erin McKean brings in the stories of the dresses (which started on her blog). Dora had no idea her grandma had written any stories until a woman bought a dress and queried. Through the stories and a comical cast of characters, Dora discovers her true calling and finds she just might be able to live up to all of Mimi’s dreams for her after all.
4/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, 5 Spot.

CSN giveaway

As you know, I love CSN Stores. You can purchase nearly anything from them including swingsets and the awesome cookware I got for my birthday last year. And of course, there's the bookshelf that I reviewed last year. The options are pretty endless. So I'm very excited to announce that one of you (so long as you reside in either the US or Canada) will soon have the opportunity to win a gift certificate to CSN Stores!

Stay tuned to this post to find out when the giveaway will go live.

UPDATE: The giveaway is now open!! One lucky resident of the US or Canada will receive a $35 gift certificate good for anything available on the CSN Stores site!

The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower (one extra each for the blog and Twitter) or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on March 12. Winner will be selected at random. The CSN Stores gift certificate is good only for addresses in the US and Canada; please check the CSN website for information on ordering.

giveaway winners: how to marry a duke

The winners are June M., CharliDenae, and dothetwist. Enjoy!