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Merissa (12552 KP) rated Brittle Bonds (Guadel Chronicles #3) in Books

Apr 7, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)  
Brittle Bonds (Guadel Chronicles #3)
Brittle Bonds (Guadel Chronicles #3)
Dean Murray | 2012 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book starts off in the same vein as the other - Va'del is still not trusted by most of the Guadel but those that do trust him also respect him. Va'ma takes Va'del into his confidence and tells him of his fears that the Capital is not as safe as everyone thinks. They make plans to test out their welcome and make contingency plans just in case. It's a good job they do because then this story takes an unexpected twist.

Va'del and Jain find themselves in a world unknown to them and have to learn how to fit in quickly as their survival depends on it.

The layers upon layers of this story make it at once intricate, rich and detailed whilst still being an easy read. This story will draw you into it and take you along for the ride. Highly recommended for all Fantasy fans. Brittle Bonds reaches a natural conclusion that will still leave you wanting more. Luckily for me, I have Shattered Ties ready to go (review to follow).
 
* 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!
July 20, 2016
  
All These Beautiful Strangers
All These Beautiful Strangers
Elizabeth Klehfoth | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Review can also be found on www.diaryofdifference.com

A beautiful story about families, love, betrayal, the difference between the rich and poor, and a girl that tries to discover what happened to her missing mother, while discovering herself.

Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for – a tight-knit family, a loyal set of friends, and top grades a privileged boarding school. But Charlie’s never been interested in what most people want. Like all Calloways, she’s been taught that she’s different, special – better. So when her school’s super-exclusive secret society extends a mysterious invitation, Charlie’s determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there.

But their secrets go deeper than she knows.

Charlie finds herself thrust into the centre of a decades-old mystery – one that implicates her family in not one terrible crime, but two. Uncovering their past may destroy everything she knows – or give her the answer she’s always craved: Who or what was behind her mother’s disappearance ten years ago?

I haven’t heard about this book until I received it as a birthday gift from my sister. The cover is just – gorgeous! You can feel the raindrops on the cover, and the sides are painted black, and you can read out ”I KNOW”. They have been thinking of all the little details.

The story is a bit slow at the beginning. It took me a while to get into it, as they delay the plot for a while, but once you get past that little hill of boredom, it gets better and better. I could imagine myself climbing a mountain with my bike, struggling while climbing, just so I can enjoy the great fast downhill and wind in my face.

The story is told by many people’s perspective, and it changes after each chapter. The amazing thing was, the stories go back in the past as well, but the story keeps flowing in one direction, event by event, which I really enjoyed. If this was poorly made, the book would’ve been so confusing, but fortunately, it wasn’t.

Even though I didn’t expect, this turned out to be a great mystery-solving novel, with wonderful and unexpected plot-twists, and a cliffhanger until the end. Is the mother dead or alive?
Many of the topics covered are very relatable. The difference between children raised in rich families versus the children raised in not-s-rich families. Their thoughts and mindsets, their beliefs, and the people they hang out with. And when a girl like Charlie, who has a father from a rich family and a mother from a poor family, is on the cross-road, it is amazing to see this character develop and make choices for herself, that reflect on both her backgrounds.

A lovely read, fast-paced novel, with a beautiful cover and even more beautiful reading material, this is one of the stories that I would recommend for you to read on a rainy day, covered in a blanket, with a hot chocolate – despite the summer theme on the cover, this was a winter book for me.
  
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Necole (36 KP) rated The Good Girl in Books

Aug 12, 2018 (Updated Aug 12, 2018)  
The Good Girl
The Good Girl
Mary Kubica | 2015 | Thriller
8
7.6 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was really excited about reading this book. I have not read any books by Mary Kubica before so I wanted to start with her first published book. I love psychothriller and mystery books so the synopsis on the back of the book intrigued me.
Mia is kidnapped and held for ransom, however the it did not go as planned. Colin changed the plans and as the story unfolds, you get a better understanding of why. Mia is a daughter of a powerful judge and a stay at home mom. She is a teacher in an underprivileged high school and lives a life different from her rich upbringing and opposite of her older sister. As the story unfolds it is told in the perspectives of Mia's mom Eve, Gabe (the detective on the case) and Colin (the kidnapper) in a format of before Mia was found and after Mia was found. I actually really liked this writing style and found it kept me more intrigued in the story.
I kept reading and not wanting to put it down to see how each of the characters were involved, how these characters developed from the beginning to the end, how things were going to play out and how the few story lines would end and tie in together.
At the beginning of the book all the male characters seemed very machoistic, dominant and arrogant, but as the story unfolded you got a softer side of Colin and Gabe which helped the story develop into different plots and made you feel more compelled to them unlike in the beginning. Even feeling sorry for the kidnapper Colin at the end for reasons you will have to read the book to understand.
I gave this book 4 stars because I felt the ending could have been better, I wasn't as shocked as I thought I would be, and it felt a little rushed.
All in all is what a good book I would recommend and I will definitely read more of Mary Kubica.