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It felt like ages since I had read a mystery/thriller novel, so when I was sent THE STARTER WIFE by Nina Laurin from HBG Canada, I thought that this one would be the perfect one to read now! And boy, am I glad I picked up this one!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

Local police have announced that they’re closing the investigation of the suspected drowning of 37-year-old painter Colleen Westcott. She disappeared on April 11, 2010, and her car was found parked near the waterfront in Cleveland two days later, but her body has never been found. The chief of police has stated that no concrete evidence of foul play has been discovered in the probe.
I close the online search window, annoyed. These articles never have enough detail. They think my husband’s first wife disappeared or they think she is dead. There’s a big difference.
My phone rings, jarring me away from my thoughts, and when I pick it up, it’s an unknown number. The only answer to my slightly breathless hello is empty static.
When the voice does finally come, it’s female, low, muffled somehow. “Where is it, Claire? What did you do with it? Tell me where it is.”
A woman. A real flesh-and-blood woman on the other end of the phone. She’s not just in my head.
A wave of panic spreads under my skin like ice water. It’s Colleen.

Everything about this book blew me away. From the writing style, to the characters and the overall suspense of this story, this one will easily be remembered as one of my favourite domestic thrillers of all time.

The writing in this novel was by far some of the best I have ever read, period. It was fantastic and truly made this book seem so thrilling. In this novel, one of the main questions during the first two-thirds of the novel is “Who is the second perspective?”, as you only know one of the main perspectives in this book at the beginning of the story. I have NEVER read a book written like this, and couldn’t get enough of it! By the 150 page mark, I thought that the second perspective was one of three different people! And let me tell you – you will never guess the second perspective reveal! It was quite honestly one of the best plot twists I have ever read in a thriller!

This book contained SO many shocking twists and reveals that I never saw coming! After nearly every chapter, there is some sort of plot twist that throws you completely off guard, and those twists will make you sit on the edge of your seat. How Nina came up with some of these ideas is beyond me!

One of the most interesting parts of this novel is that practically every main theme in this novel is a spoiler. You really can’t talk about what really happens in this book without giving anything away, but I will tell you this. The quote “Where is it, Claire? What did you do with it? Tell me where it is.” which is found in the synopsis, is actually a huge spoiler, but you won’t have any clue why until you pass the 200 page mark in this book!

By the time I reached the end of the novel, I had predicted one of the main reveals, but the final twist/reveal was super interesting and unpredictable. It was interesting because you never really end up knowing what happens, even though it is not ended openly.

This is one of those books that you need to re-read while the story is still fresh in your mind. I noticed that all of the events connect so seemlessly with eachother, but you won’t notice that at all while reading this story. I cannot emphasize how spectacular the writing and plot building was in this novel, and you won’t understand it until you read it yourself!

Overall, I absolutely loved this brilliant novel and rated it 5/5 stars! Thanks to HBG Canada for the ARC!

Good Night Book Owls!

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SCREEN QUEENS by Lori Goldstein has been on my radar since the end of last year! I had been SO excited for this book, and it was in the top spot of my most anticipated books of 2019 list! I was so grateful to find this one in my mailbox at the beginning of the year, and I was so excited to read it! But, did this book live up to my highest expectations? Keep reading this review to find out!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

The Bold Type meets The Social Network when three girls vying for prestigious summer internships through a startup incubator program uncover the truth about what it means to succeed in the male-dominated world of tech.
This summer Silicon Valley is a girls’ club.
Three thousand applicants. An acceptance rate of two percent. A dream internship for the winning team. ValleyStart is the most prestigious high school tech incubator competition in the country. Lucy Katz, Maddie Li, and Delia Meyer have secured their spots. And they’ve come to win.
Meet the Screen Queens.
Lucy Katz was born and raised in Palo Alto, so tech, well, it runs in her blood. A social butterfly and CEO in-the-making, Lucy is ready to win and party.
East Coast designer, Maddie Li left her home and small business behind for a summer at ValleyStart. Maddie thinks she’s only there to bolster her graphic design portfolio, not to make friends.
Delia Meyer taught herself how to code on a hand-me-down computer in her tiny Midwestern town. Now, it’s time for the big leagues–ValleyStart–but super shy Delia isn’t sure if she can hack it (pun intended).
When the competition kicks off, Lucy, Maddie, and Delia realize just how challenging the next five weeks will be. As if there wasn’t enough pressure already, the girls learn that they would be the only all-female team to win ever. Add in one first love, a two-faced mentor, and an ex-boyfriend turned nemesis and things get…complicated.

While this book was at the top of my most anticipated releases on 2019, I’m sad to say that it didn’t meet my expectations. The first few chapters started off very strong, but I found the majority of the book to be quite boring. Not all of the scenes were relevant to the overall flow of the story, and it didn’t solve the main problem until the very very end of the story.

The characters in this novel were just OK to me. I really loved how the three main characters all came from different cultures and backgrounds, but I would have loved to have explored that aspect of the story even more. Other than that, the characters weren’t anything special. They seemed like the basic, teenage female characters that you can find in a lot of other YA novels. I couldn’t seem to connect with the characters as much as I would have liked to, and I also felt like I didn’t get to know them enough within this 350 page book. However, they did develop and form a strong friendship throughout the story, which I enjoyed immensely.

I loved all of the tech aspects in the story. This book had a high focus on silicone valley and the tech industry in the female perspective, which I found super interesting to read about. One of my favourite scenes in the book was when they talked to famous female CEO’s, as I found their mature perspectives interesting.

The family dynamics within this book was definitely my favourite part to read about! I loved seeing the very different relationships that the three main characters had with their parents or siblings. This book truly represented several variations of teen + family interactions/relationships, which I really enjoyed reading about.

The main issue I had with this story was the writing. I found it super hard to follow most of the time, and I had a hard time visualizing a lot of the scenes. At times it was very choppy and didn’t make much sense. I also really disliked the third person writing style used in this book, as it felt like it was written in first person but then changed to third throughout the chapter. I think this book would have been way better had it been written in first person perspective with three different POVs (one for each of the main characters).

If you are looking for a book that features strong female teens trying to breakthrough the tech-industry, I recommend picking this one up! Overall, I rated it 3.25/5 stars.

Thanks to Penguin Teen Canada for the ARC!

Good Night Book Owls!

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If you follow my blog and want to choose just one book to read based off of my reviews/recommendations, PLEASE let it be this book! THE FRIEND ZONE by Abby Jimenez may be the BEST book I read all year. I read it in just over 24 hours, and it was absolutely incredible.

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

Kristen Petersen doesn’t do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don’t get her. She’s also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.
Planning her best friend’s wedding is bittersweet for Kristen–especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He’s funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he’d be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it’s harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.
The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.

As I said at the beginning of this post, this book was absolutely phenomenal. The characters, plot, and writing were just the top highlights of this book, as literally everything was great!

Kristen and Josh, the two main protagonists, were the best part of this story. They were both incredible and fully developed characters, the provided a lot of thought provoking dialogue. I have never connected to a character more than Kristen. While we do not share the same medical troubles, I still saw so much of myself in her. From her powerful but sarcastic attitude, caring more about other people than herself, and her obsessive tendencies, I couldn’t help but think of myself when I was reading from her perspective. I also obviously LOVED Josh. I think readers will become obsessed with him simply because most of us want to date someone similar to him! Their friendship (no spoilers here!) dynamic was fantastic, and I loved every part of it.

I have never felt more emotional when reading a book. After practically every chapter, I had to stop myself and take a deep breath along with a chuckle or cry! It was so easy to immerse myself into this story and feel all of the emotions for all of the characters in this novel.

The writing in this novel was fantastic! It was super fast paced, while also being able to create a slow and steady romance. The writing never felt choppy or odd, and the writing styled stayed the exact same throughout the entirety of the novel. Every chapter was relevant to the flow of the story, which made me highly anticipate each section.

As I said before, this story felt so incredibly real. There was a strong focus on women’s health throughout this novel, which wasn’t something I’ve ever read before. This book didn’t skip over real life issues, which made it so much different than other adult romance/contemporary stories. It also helped contribute to why I felt so emotional while reading the story.

Overall, I absolutely love love LOVED this novel, and rated it 5/5 stars. Thanks to Hachette Book Group Canada for the finished copy!

It’s crazy to think that as of right now, my top two books of 2019 were both debut novels, written by debut authors. It is so cool to see that there is so much to look forward to in the world of books over the next several years!

Good Night Book Owls!