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The Upside of Unrequited
The Upside of Unrequited
Becky Albertalli | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.2 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Upside of Unrequited follows Molly, a girl who has had 26 crushes (and counting). She’s never been brave enough to put herself out there, never told any of her crushes how she felt and has never been rejected. But will everything change with crush 27?

This book is great because it has diverse people represented and seems authentic to each of their individual personalities and struggles. It is nice to see such a well-developed collection of people introduced to readers because sometimes readers aren’t always able to find a character they can relate to in a book. I hope that this book is not one of them.

Although Molly thinks she might like two different boys at one time, this isn’t a book that revolves around a love triangle. Molly struggles with her changing relationship with her twin sister. Her sister explores her own romantic feelings. Her parents balance their lives with a new baby and a very happy occasion on the horizon.

This is a cute, quick read about crushes, first loves, family, friends, and life. Highly recommended to young adult/teen readers who enjoy happy contemporary books.
  
The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds
2019 | Drama, Sci-Fi
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was really excited for this series. I have read the book a number of times and it is one of my favourites. I thought at first they were keeping very true to the book, although I have no idea why the writers decided to add an unnecessary love triangle into the mix which has no bearing on the story whatsoever. The filming and effects we good, I was really impressed with the tripods. However, when we finally saw the martians I was disappointed with the way they were portrayed, I was expecting tentacles and these beings (that I might add were meant to be of higher intelligence and based on the tripods have good dexterity) seemed a bit weak and useless. The acting on the whole was good, although at times it seemed people were unaware that the martians were terrifying and just seemed to be taking a leisure walk away rather than the chaos and fear driven manic you would expect. This is better than most adaptation of H.G.Wells's classic. The final episode was weak and didn't follow the storyline which was highly disappointing.
  
Better Late Than Never
Better Late Than Never
Jenn McKinlay | 2016 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Late Clue
Lindsay Norris has declared an overdue book amnesty day for the Briar Creek Public Library, but even she is surprised when a book that was checked out twenty years ago is returned. Further research indicates that it was checked out by Candice Whitley on the day she was murdered – a crime that remains unsolved. Why was this book returned now? Will it help solve this cold case?

I was intrigued by the premise of this book as soon as I learned what it was. I was rewarded with a well-executed mystery that provided clues and red herrings that kept me guessing until I reached the suspenseful climax. The romantic triangle that has been going on for the last few books appears to have wrapped up here, but it looks like everyone will be staying in town, which I am very happy about since I just love these characters. We got a few new regulars here, too, and I’m looking forward to getting to know them better. This book included plenty of laughs and grins, so if you are looking for a light, fun murder mystery, this is the book to check out.
  
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David McK (3425 KP) rated Arthur (The Arthurian Tales #3) in Books

Jun 30, 2024 (Updated Jun 30, 2024)  
Arthur (The Arthurian Tales #3)
Arthur (The Arthurian Tales #3)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the final entry in Giles Kristian's 'Arthurian Tales' trilogy, set after both 'Lancelot' and 'Camelot', and now told in the third person instead of the first person view of both those former works.

It's also the first one - I believe - to so heavily rely on flashbacks, paralleling the 'now' of the story with the background to one of the main characters Beran (whose identity I, personally, found quite easy to grok early on).

As a whole, I have to say, this trilogy is one of the best retellings of the Arthurian myths I have come across although retelling, however, may be too strong a word; perhaps a better on would be re-imagining as there's no mystical Green Knight (reimagined in 'Camelot'), search for the Holy Grails (again, see 'Camelot'), or mysterious women lying in ponds and distributing swords ("that's no basis for sound government..."), but which does cover the whole Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere love triangle (see, in particular, 'Lancelot') and the fall out thereof.

In short, all three novels are well worth a read - personally, I found I enjoyed these more than the 'Blood Eye' series by the same author.
  
Azure (The Silver #5)
Azure (The Silver #5)
Cheree Alsop | 2012 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Azure is the fifth book in the Silver series and we start off with a pack that isn't Jaze Carso's! Instead, Vance is the Alpha of Two, a hideaway retreat that rich parents can send their alpha sons to, supposedly to protect them. From the way we read about Vance, that protection comes at a cost. Things are going okay for Vance until they are ambushed and he has to protect his pack. Then, he falls for Nora, one of the Hunters who attacked them. No good can come from this, surely?!

Although this book didn't tick as many boxes for me as the others (and I have absolutely NO idea why!!!) I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. I think, for me, it was the love triangle between Nora-Vance-Gem. I'm really not a big fan of them so that may be why. However, I will say, in this situation, it is oh so believable! No matter how much you love someone, to go through what Vance and Gem did, gives you a bond that may be confused with love. I thought it was really well written and perfect for the story.

This is such a fantastic series and I really am loving every book. Yes, even this one! 😊 Cheree Alsop writes in such a spectacular way as to show the emotions of what her characters are going through. The limelight is also shared amongst the characters. Absolutely amazing and highly recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated Bones to Pick in Books

Apr 18, 2021 (Updated Apr 18, 2021)  
Bones to Pick
Bones to Pick
Linda Lovely | 2017 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’m Glad I Picked This Debut
Vegan chef Brie Hooker hadn’t planned to start working on her aunt Eva’s goat farm and dairy, but when Eva needs help, Brie is happy to step in. That’s before a pot-bellied pig turns up bones – human bones. The skeleton turns out to be Eva’s husband, who disappeared four decades ago. There was no love lost between Eva and her husband, but Eva didn’t kill him. However, he has too many relatives in the area who are willing to blame Eva, so Brie starts investigating, hoping to clear her aunt. When another dead body turns up, Brie finds herself in trouble with the law as well. Are the two dead bodies related? Can she figure out what happened?
 
The characters drew me into this book right away; they are fully developed and fun. Their teasing and Brie’s creative meat and cheese curses added a level of humor that I enjoyed. The book was hard to put down with plenty of events to keep me engaged. Unfortunately, I did feel that the events took the place of the investigation moving forward, which frustrated me. However, the climax resolved things and upped the stakes in a major way. This book is a bit edgy for my normal reads, on the border between PG and PG-13, thanks in part of the teasing Brie gets about her love life. Yes, this book does introduce a love triangle. While I am getting tired of them, I do like both of the guys here, so I hope it doesn’t get dragged out for very long. Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you enjoy humor in your mysteries, you’ll be glad you picked up this book.
  
The Killables. Gemma Malley
The Killables. Gemma Malley
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I first discovered Gemma Malley thanks to my close friend several years ago. I remember loving her books and was so upset when the sequel to the book I'd read had not been released. I'm planning on reading that book soon...

So, the plot. Evie thinks she's evil, doomed to be reconditioned. She has dreams that must be caused by her evilness, and even meets up secretly with her matched one's brother.

The city Evie lives in is supposed to be safe, with no evil. But when her lover, Raffy, is destined to become a K, Evie knows something is wrong. His brother, Lucas, who once seemed so harsh and cold, is now the one helping Evie and Raffy escape. What if everything she had thought about him was wrong?

Beyond the city walls, Raffy and Evie meet Linus. He reveals the truth about the New Baptism, about the effects of the operation - how removing the amygdala does not only remove evil but humanity itself. They devise a plan to overcome the System as it is and return it to its original design.

I love the plot of this, and it's fantastically written. It's exciting and unexpected and really easy to read. But the love triangle... Why... Why does every YA book have one?! Why can't Evie just be in love with one brother and leave it at that?! Meh.

I am soon to read the rest of this trilogy, and will be posting my reviews on those too. But I do really like Gemma Malley, and would certainly recommend reading some of her books.

As for this particular novel, I'm going to rate it 4 stars out of 5. Exciting and thrilling, but not perfect.