Author: lalindseyp

Man Made Monsters is a collection of short stories following characters in indigenous midwestern tribes. The stories take place over various generations and are filled with themes ranging from messy breakups to a zombie apocalypse. Each story has its own characters and plotlines however, in the end, the author connects the short stories in a very unexpected way. 

Man Made Monsters is a new and original take on horror that gives readers a little bit from every side of the horror genre in just one book. The only downside I found to the short story aspect of the book was simply the fact that they were short stories. I often times found myself having to really force myself to read the longer chapters because I felt as though most of the longer stories were dry and not only lacked any horror or thriller aspects but also the stories themselves simply fell flat for me. When it came to the shorter chapters I would zip through them because I found the plots to be dynamic and complex and I would be a little sad when they were over simply because they were just so much more enjoyable to read. It was a little tricky because the longer stories seemed to be finished within a page or two but continued despite the fact, while with some of the shorter stories seemed to end before there was really any closure given which was a little difficult to stick through. 

This book seemed like you needed to have a lot of prior knowledge of the customs, religious traditions, language, and attitudes of the indigenous tribes of the Midwest. While I can understand and respect the author’s choice to include these things I wish there had been some sort of explanatory guide at the beginning rather than a hidden glossary at the back of the book. I think my lack of knowledge of the indigenous way of life and especially their language severely hindered my ability to understand certain details and sometimes even entire themes and motives within the book wich makes this book feel very inaccessible. 

I also had a lot of issues with some of the characters. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not to add to the shock factor but I found a lot of the characters to lack any humanity and not in a “monster” type of way but rather they just didn’t seem to react at all. Stoic characters have always been hard for me to read because I find myself unable to relate to them and with a lack of overly expressive characters to who I am usually drawn to, most characters seemed to simply just exist with no feelings, emotions, or even reactions to the “horror” surrounding them which was a little difficult. 

Overall had higher expectations for this book, this book won the award for best book by an indigenous author which is not a category I typically read from and I was sad to have this book fall so flat for me. I would be curious to read another book by this author in the future that is not short stories to see how they compare.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows a young journalist at a prestigious magazine dealing with many personal struggles. Monique Grant has been specifically requested by perhaps the most famous woman to date for a “Tell-all interview”. When she arrives for her first day of interviews with Evelyn Hugo she is surprised to learn that Hugo never planned to do an interview for a magazine but rather has specifically requested her to write her official biography, only to be published once she has passed. This opportunity is far too great to pass up and Grant begins meeting Evelyn every day where she begins to uncover all of the actress’s secrets and the thing everyone wants to know; the story behind all seven of her husbands.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was very fun to read, I found the beginning to be a little slow but once you make it a few chapters in, the book really picks up. The writing style was very interesting because the story is told from the third person and the second person and there are times when the author will include articles and blog posts for the characters which I found fun and different.

This book deals with many issues including child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation, LGBTQ+ issues, domestic violence, and the harsh realities of life in the spotlight. I appreciated Reid’s take on these subjects and I think the way she chose to portray them was very unique and emphasized the point. This book is definitely geared towards older teens and young adults rather than younger teens because this book primarily focuses on adult issues and relationships in a way that wouldn’t be relatable to younger teen audiences.

The only trouble I found in this book was the way Evelyn Hugo is portrayed. Hugo is meant to be this huge old Hollywood superstar, beloved by all. I found Hugo to be cold, and calculating, She tells Grant she has no choice but to write her biography and that she was never going to do an interview for the magazine. This not only instills mistrust in Grant but the readers as well. Hugo seems to have no regard for those she hurts or uses for her own personal gain as she manipulates situations and orchestrates people’s downfall as soon as she gets what she wants. Hugo pays little mind to the fact that she has forced Grant to put her job in jeopardy for a book she might not be allowed to publish for another 20 years or that she prayed on her husbands to perpetuate her own stardom. For a character who is supposedly “beloved by all” Hugo seems largely unrelatable with little value to the good of others which I found difficult.

Lightlark is a fantasy mystery Following the young ruler Isla as she competes in the Centennial, a battle of rulers from the nations of Lightlark to save the island and break free from their curses. The rulers from each realm are all gifted with special abilities but due to their curses, they are left powerless. Isla is a ruler plagued by her own curse not from the island. Isla is powerless and must compete in the Centennial against the powerful rulers not only in an effort to save the island, and break her people free from her curse but also to break herself free of her own curse.

Lightlark is full of mystery, lost twists, betrayals, and underlying subplots, making the book very fun to read. The writing is very easy to follow which makes it quick and simple which is refreshing when you just want to curl up and read and relax. The plot is very deep and complex which is very entertaining but can sometimes be hard to follow especially toward the end of the book. The worldbuilding of this book goes into a lot of detail and in some parts makes it very easy to imagine the world exactly how Aster does.

The only problem I found with the book was that at times it was a bit too complex for the way it was written. Lightlark was Aster’s first book and I think that at points it shows. The plot had a lot of complex elements and darker topics however the writing used to portray these situations didn’t change along with the plot and it seemed more like a middle school interpretation rather than showcasing the complexity used in other ways throughout the book.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think this book is more geared towards younger YA lit readers however as an older YA reader I still found this book fun and entertaining however it lacked complexity of characters and any social commentary which is something I typically look for in my books.

!Trigger Warning!

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin is a dual-point-of-view novel that tells the story of two sisters trying to find their own ways back to each other. They grew up outside the cities, with an abusive father. To continue funding his drinking habit The father sold his oldest daughter Mei Yee into sexual slavery in The Walled City; an overlooked piece of land between two nations where the are no laws. Jin is determined to get her sister back but to do so she must enter The Walled City. For her own safety, Jin masquerades as a boy while spending years trying to find her sister. When her hope finally dwindles, she is given the opportunity to enter the largest brothel in the city to aid the leader with asset runs outside the city. All the while Mai Yee is determined to escape the Walled City and its Brothel one way or another.

When I saw this book on the shelves I was thrilled. I have read many other of Graudin’s books and I always enjoyed the sci-fi twist she added to her historical fiction stories. At first, I was very excited however I was surprised to find out that this story was not historical fiction. I would describe this story to be very dystopian however rather similar in many aspects to our world. I enjoyed this book however I wanted to see more of a sci-fi twist as is typical of Graudin’s other books

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book and how it echoes real-world places. The Walled City is explained to be a city with two others built on top which is very true of many sites in Southeast Asia. Another major setting in the story “Seng Nongi” is very reminiscent of current-day Singapore. I enjoyed picking out these similarities and I liked how although this is a dystopian fiction novel, Graudin kept it based in reality.

I noticed a few major plotholes throughout the story which influenced my opinion of the overall book. In many instances, it is said that once you enter the walled city you cannot leave however Jin walks right out of the front gate every time she leaves for an asset run into the city. I also found that this is true for other characters being able to leave directly from the called city and never come back. There were also a few other key aspects that just were unrealistic such as the negative temperatures every night that are not mentioned when it comes time for Jin to return to her home which is simply just a cardboard mat and a tarp. Although these aren’t massive problems there were certain inconsistencies throughout the story that I found to really inhibit the understanding and quality of the story

This book is not very well suited for younger teens. The story deals with many instances of alcoholism, drug abuse, overdose, sexual assault, extortion, violent scenarios, gangs, and domestic abuse. These are all key points in the story and Graudin does not shy away from the gore of these situations but rather shows them in detail. This book is suited for mature Teenagers and young adults who can handle these situations and aren’t afraid of a little violence and gore.

The Similars by Rebecca Hanover follows Emmaline Chance as she begins another school year at a prestigious boarding school While battling the recent loss of her best friend Oliver. When Emmaline returns to school, she faces The Similars, who are illegal exact DNA clones of their originals who are students at Darkwood Academy. Emmaline’s grief over her late friend only gets worse when she meets Levi, Oliver’s Similar. With the introduction of The Similars violent attacks begin to take place on their originals and Emmaline is forced to band with The Similars to discover what is truly taking place at Darkwood Academy.

I truly enjoyed this book. The plot was rich and interesting and the characters had so much depth that you only uncover as the story goes on and Emmaline gets to know them. The world-building was well executed and never felt too much. the author had a way of revealing things slowly so it was never overwhelming and really brought you into the story. While the story deals with heavy topics such as grief, addiction, and violence the author still makes it feel like these characters are teenagers. The characters are never making the smartest decisions with perfect reasoning or focusing all their efforts on one thing because, in the end, they are still supposed to be teenagers. The author does a great job of adding unnecessary details to make sure that these do still feel like teenagers such as hazing, petty arguments, trivial beauty standards, mindless bickering, and sarcastic humor. I think that while these things are unnecessary to the plot they really add to the richness of the story.

While Rebecca Hanover does a great job of writing a story with great depth and characters there were still some things that I wish were talked about more in the story. It is stated from the beginning that Emmalime is heavily grieving the loss of her best friend and is abusing sleeping pills to cope. I felt like after a while of being angry at Levi for just existing Emmaline fell too quickly for him. I am not sure if this is because the author intended for it to be a familiar face so it should give her the same feelings or if the jump from enemies to lovers was glossed over to accentuate the plot. I also wish the grief and addiction were talked about or carried further into the book. I felt like after the recent death of someone so important you don’t just magically feel better and I felt as though simply flushing the pills wouldn’t have been the end of the addiction struggles.

I think this book has the potential to appeal to a broad audience. it is a Sci-fi book as well as a murder mystery. I think it is geared more towards older teens due to the heavy topics and violence but I felt like the book could be enjoyed by whoever wanted to read it.

How She Died, How I Lived tells the story of Jaimie Strand’s brutal murder and the aftermath of the events as seen by the 4 other potential victims. One night Kyle Paxton reaches out to five girls asking to meet him but only one goes. She is brutally murdered and the other girls are left wondering why they were targeted and what would have happened if they had replied to Kyle’s text. The story follows a nameless narrator who is one of the five girls as she navigates high school after the tragedy and heads towards the trial where she will once again have to face Kyle. As the trial looms closer, each girl is left with seemingly innocent and harmless gifts. As the story continues the girls have to figure out what these mysterious gifts mean, and what this has to do with the upcoming trial. If the messages they are receiving are true, that Kyle has a way out.

I always enjoy dark mystery books with endless twists and a shocking ending however, this book was too predictable with the actual mystery while the actions of the narrator were so wild and unpredictable that it was hard to follow. I enjoyed the idea for the plot of this book however it seemed as though the author could have done a better job with how it was executed. Teenagers are known to make unpredictable choices but Crockett took that a little too far because there seemed to be no thought or reason behind any action of the characters in the story.

The author weaved in many elements of typical mystery into the story as well as adding a large portion of romance to the plot. As much as I enjoy a good murder mystery romance I felt as though there was very little chemistry between the protagonist and the main love interest and their connection seemed forced.

The plot of this book was very original and I enjoyed the concept quite a lot however a lot of the book seemed to drag on just for the sake of having a longer book. I feel as though what is done in roughly 500 pages could be told in a much more concise manner. Crocket touches on many teen issues and trends such as partying, drinking, substance abuse, and mental health issues however, they are only touched on or used as minor background details. I wish the author had gone more in-depth into these themes because I think for what the story was it would have carried a much stronger message.

Overall the story was very intriguing and had a very well thought out ending. This book definitely is written for a mature audience. This book is a good fit for people who enjoy mysteries, murder mysteries, romance, and dark fiction.

Star Wars: Lost Stars is a duel Point of view story following best friends Thane and Ciena; children from opposite families on one planet striving for the same goal: to be the best imperial officers they can be. Thane grew up the youngest son of Second wave settlers on the outer rim planet Jeculan. His parents and older brother create a terrible home environment for him which he dreamed of escaping by joining the Empire. Ciena is the only surviving daughter of Valley parents. Ciena lives her life for both herself and her late twin sister. Her biggest wish is to one day show her sister the galaxy outside of the remote planet. Thane and Ciena meet the day the Empire arrives on Jeculan and the two bond over their shared passion for flying. Over the years the pair train together to attend one of the Empire’s prestigious training academies. Together they travel to Courousaunt and their bond is seemingly stranger than ever until Ciena is framed for altering Thane’s project causing him to fail the assignment. Now the once unstoppable duo can barely stand to look at each other. Though the years they grow together despite being assigned to opposite sides of the galaxy. What was once a childhood friendship turns into a passionate love that is only uncovered after a betrayal. Now they are reminded that despite the differences they have to work together to save each other.

Star Wars: Lost Stars has a heavy focus on honor and loyalty. Ciena was raised in a first-wave family. these first-wave settlers uphold a strong sense of honor. When Ciena swears her oath of loyalty to the Empire her loyalty is cemented. As long as she had been with thane she had never known her to dishonor anything but now that Thane has disregarded his oath Ciean has to decide if she can be loyal to Thane and still honor her oath to the Empire. Together they have to discover that you can be loyal to more than one thing.

I absolutely love this book, it is one of my top 2 books and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone even if they don’t like Star Wars. Part of the appeal is that the book doesn’t neassecarily have to be a Star Wars book, it could be its own story without having to have a whole franchise to build off of it which I thinkdraws a lot of new readers to the book but it is an excellent book whether your reading it because it is a Star Wars book or not

Trigger Warning.

We Weren’t Looking to Be Found is the story of Dani, a politician’s daughter in Texas Struggling with toxic relationships, familial problems, self-destructive behavior, and heavy substance abuse problems. Dani runs from her family and winds up at Peach Tree Hills a rehabilitation facility in rural Georgia. Camilla is a shy girl who dreams of attending a prestigious performing arts college and after being rejected time and time again she is finally accepted but she finds she is no longer able to attend. Cammila struggles with overly critical thoughts, depression, High anxiety, and self-harming behaviors. With seemingly nothing left, Camila attempts to take her own life but after her failed attempt is sent to Peach Tree Hills facility where she meets Dani. The two girls get sick of the pressure and general nature of the facility and escape to a party in a nearby town. At the party, both girls fall right back into the old habits that they had been working to overcome. In an attempt to show the girls responsibility and allow them to try and rebuild the bond that they severed after the events of the party, they are asked to clean out a storage room. There they find a set of letters that help the girls realize that they aren’t as alone as they think and that together they can start to heal.

This book discusses heavy thematic topics with a focus on self-harm, substance abuse, and difficult family dynamics. While the author tries to keep it lighthearted with a blossoming friendship and a found sense of belonging I found it to be forced. With the added mystery element I felt as though the author added too many things all at once without fully developing any other plot points which made the story hard to follow and difficult to get into. For example, at the beginning of the book, the author put a heavy focus on the ethnicity of these girls but after a short while it was a completely minute detail after it had been such an important aspect of the narrative. While I valued the way the author brought in so many different components to the lives and mental health problems these young girls faced it felt implausible and like she was reaching for something to add in hopes to keep these people interested. For an award-winning book, it felt quite juvenile in that the writing, language, tone, and overall sense of the book were either over or underdeveloped and hard to believe. mental health problems are a difficult thing to write about in a way that readers can relate to but in this book, I felt like there was nothing in the story that felt realistic enough to relate to.

Overall I value the perspective the author brings to her book but I feel as though they could be two separate stories. I love mysteries and I enjoy reading about the experiences of characters and reading about their struggles and how they work through them but having both together didn’t really work for me and it felt like a stretch I couldn’t just accept, which made the other tough stretches and plot holes harder to overlook. I am glad I read the book to better understand the experiences, lives, and struggles of others but I wouldn’t read it again.

Wolf By Wolf is the story of a young Jewish girl working with the rebellion to assassinate Hitler at the end of a grueling cross-continental motorcycle race. At the same time, she struggles to uphold an alternate identity. Yale was taken to a concentration camp as a young girl where she was taken to be an experiment. Over the years these experiments changed Yale’s very genetic makeup until she was able to alter her appearance at will. With the ability to “Skin Shift”, Yale escapes the camp and finds herself in the rebellion. After years of training, she is sent to assume the identity of Adele Wolfe, the first female victor of the Axis Tour, a rugged motorcycle race across the Natzi Empire. She knows in order to complete her mission she must find a way to navigate the road ahead and the mysterious past between Adele and a fellow racer and somehow come out on top to secure an invitation to the Victors Ball.

Yale can live as anybody she wants and can change it at will but with the ability to be anyone, the biggest challenge Yale faces is trying to be herself. The only things that ever stay the same for Yale are her tattoos. “Four memories and a reminder.” Yale keeps these wolves, her own “lonely pack.” These wolves are the only attachment Yale has to her true self and even so, she has to keep them hidden from the world. Yale is constantly second-guessing her choices when they don’t have to do with her mission. Yale slowly begins to develop feelings for her biggest competitor, Victor Luka Lowë, and even though he stays by her side when he knows she isn’t actually Adele Wolfe, Yale struggles to think that she is human enough to be loved.

Yale was only seven years old when she was taken to a Jewish camp. At such a young age she was experimented on, starved, overworked, and exposed to the harsh climate and the tortures that many endured. After years of being experimented on, Yale managed to escape leaving behind her barracks, her mother, her friends, and a set of Russian nesting dolls that had been made of her by an older woman who took care of Yale until the day she died. Yale blames herself for leaving and constantly reminds herself of these memories. Not only does she use the tattoos as memories but she keeps these small tokens of others close to her through everything to remind herself of everyone she has lost. Despite the fact that Yale is incredibly closed off to the world, she seems to live in one all of her own which revolves entirely around her past that she can’t let go of, and in order to complete her mission Yale needs to let go of her past and uncover what is lurking in Adele’s.

This is one of my all-time favorite books Ever. I love the story and I love the way the author portrays the characters. I enjoy that just because Yale is lonely, she still is mission-oriented and everything she does has a purpose that leads back to her overall goal. I also appreciate that although there is a romantic element to the story, it doesn’t become the whole point of the story and it really fits the characters because they are brought together out of a shared need to help each other but they both would pull apart from the other if they began inhibiting their end goals. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anybody. The book can get a little gruesome and it gets quite sad at times but although it’s a historical fiction book there are some fantasy, adventure, and thriller aspects and even if those stories aren’t your thing they book is just so enjoyable to read for the characters and simply the way the author writes in general.

The son of the first female President And the young Prince of England bring their “feud” to the front cover of every magazine and tabloid in the world the two are forced to uphold a fake friendship for the press but what started off as simple lighthearted banter and joking messages back and forth turned to a passionate romance across continents.

Red White and Royal Blue is a story a coming of age story and a quest to find your true identity at its core, but it deals with far more than that. This book addresses heavy topics like having to mask your identity. Mental health, addiction racism, and misogyny. Alex Claremont-Diaz is the son of the first female President and while he acts like a happy-go-lucky person he struggles with his mental health, this struggle while not heavily acknowledged by his peers and family is shown to us as readers quite frequently. Although Alex has a good relationship with both his parents the strain of their divorce caused him to overwork himself academically to give himself something else to think about. Alex seems to frequently overwork himself and it causes him immense stress he begins to crack under the pressures but in doing so he has also isolated himself over the years, breaking off any friendships he had and has nobody to turn to but his sister and his newfound friendship with prince Henry.

Prince Henry is the youngest prince and with his older brother being “perfect” and being the prince he has high expectations. With his older sister still dealing with the aftermath of heavy addiction, Henry feels this pressure to be perfect. Henry tells Alex “The options I’d like… they don’t seem to be options at all. I have people who interest me, but I shouldn’t pursue them. At least not in my position”. Being a prince, being gay has never been an option for Henry so he constantly hides his true identity and intentions behind masks. As Alex gets to know him he reveals all these small things and details that he has to hide because of who he is as a public figure. Henry constantly struggles with his identity and he feels as though what he wants should happen for him so as soon as something good happens he runs away.

Although both Henry and Alex have their own struggles they find a way to help each other through them and what once started out as a “feud” turned into a blossoming friendship and a passionate romance.