Category: YA

The Project by Courtney Summers

I received a free e-ARC of The Project thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

When I saw that Courtney Summers had a new book coming out, I was so excited. I read Sadie and I enjoyed it and gave that one 4/5 stars. I’d heard such good things about The Project and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

We follow Lo as she searches for her sister Bea, who has become a member of The Unity Project after a tragic accident left them parentless. Trying to expose The Unity Project as the cult she believes it to be, Lo goes to work investigating and asking questions. But when she gets close to Lev Warren to expose him for who and what he is, she begins to question everything she thought she knew. 

The synopsis sounded good and I know I already like Summers’s writing style. Unfortunately, the execution of it didn’t pan out for my personal tastes. 

The Project: The Scoop

This is being marketed as a thriller, and it is about a cult. Honestly, I didn’t get any thriller vibes at all. It felt too dry. There were times where I think it could have been trying to lead up to that point, but it never really got there for me. There just wasn’t enough suspense built. 

In regards to the cult aspect, I wanted more. We are told that people in The Unity Project are engrossed and enthusiastic members. We only really got to know a handful of people and how it’s impacted them, so I just wanted more detail. I also wanted answers to some of the questions that Lo went in search of but were just kind of forgotten about. 

Most of the characters were kind of flat for me, so I didn’t care about most of the characters. Some of the character traits didn’t make sense for the roles.

Overall, the story wasn’t terrible. If it hadn’t been marketed as a thriller/mystery, I personally would have enjoyed it more. As it stands, there wasn’t anything wrong with the story, it just wasn’t for me.

I know that I have an unpopular opinion. Although this book was a miss for me, I will still read other books by Summers. I encourage you to read some of the other reviews about this book, especially those that did enjoy this book. 

Publication is set for 2/2. 

The Project by Courtney Summers
Cover of The Project from My Netgalley Account

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

I won a free ARC of Amari and the Night Brothers during NYCC/Metaverse in exchange for an honest review. Special thanks to Epic Reads and the publisher Balzer + Bray for the physical copy I was provided. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this book we follow Amari Peters, a young girl who just wants to find her missing brother, Quinton. When she gets an opportunity to visit the special camp that he used to attend every summer, she’ll find that things aren’t always as they seem, and she’s off to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Soon she finds out what her supernatural talent is, but will she be able to save Quinton in time?

I really enjoyed this book. It had everything I like in a middle grade novel. There were interesting characters, it was set in a fun world, there was magic, and we got to follow a strong Black female main character. So let’s get a little bit more into the specifics of what I really liked.

Amari and the Night Brothers: The Breakdown

First, let’s talk about this world building. This book has dual worlds in it: the natural world and the supernatural world. Alston did a great job juxtaposing the two throughout the book. Along with this, there were the specific jobs and departments that were a part of the supernatural world that I especially enjoyed. These included: Department of Coverups, Department of the Unexplained, etc. I thought these were fun additions to a book about a supernatural world and I can only imagine what a middle grade reader who enjoys magic would think.

So what about the magic? I’ll admit, I do hope there is more about this in the second book. What we were given was interesting, but I wanted more about how it worked. I don’t want to give any spoilers away about this aspect so I’ll just leave it at that.

Alston wrote interesting and recognizable characters. I love that the hero of our story is Amari, a young Black girl from the “wrong side of town” who just wants to find her brother. I love that we see her internal struggle with self-worth, because that is such a true-to-life issue, and it’s been validated for her by her peers. Alston did a great job with Amari’s character and showing her growth from self-doubt to self-assured. I also liked that he made her best friend, Elsie, a weredragon who is a science genius. The characters in here were so thought out and had such awesome quirks, I loved them!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I fled through it, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next with Amari and her friends. I can’t recommend this enough! It’s due for publication on 1/19/21 so be sure to get your copy!

Amari and the Night Brothers

The Frozen Crown by Greta Kelly

*Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.

I received a free e-ARC of The Frozen Crown thanks to BookRiot and HarperVoyager US in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this story we’re following Princess Askia of Seravesh as she travels to Vishir hoping to procure an army to defend her land. Radovan, the ruthless ruler of the Roven Empire, has been slaying villages inside her borders. Askia has run out of options. But life at Vishir takes political finesse, which is something Askia has little experience in. But Askia has a secret that is dangerous should it be found out. Can she secure an alliance while maintaining her secret? Can she save Seravesh? 

Okay y’all, when I read the premise, I knew I had to read this as soon as I could. This book did not disappoint. It has a little bit of everything in it: politics, magic, romance, and war.

The Frozen Crown: My Thoughts

The magic system in this book is awesome. I look forward to book two because I really want more of it. The magic is in the form of witches, of which there are different kinds. I don’t want to give too much away, because I think it’s better to find out about it all as you’re reading. However, Kelly included that part of the magic system can be manipulated. That was very interesting and although I’ve seen similar things done in other books, I liked the way it was portrayed here. I’d really like to see more of it fleshed out in book two.

The characters were written well. Kelly did a great job portraying the conflicting emotions and situations that Askia and others were/would be in. We could see from some actions that certain characters took the slippery political slope and the games that they had to play at court. 

One thing that I will say about this book is that I was confused at the beginning. Once I figured out what was going on, it was still a while for me to get into the “can’t put it down” groove. The ending felt a bit predictable and rushed. I enjoy a good cliffhanger, but I wish the ending would have happened a little differently. Regardless, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy!

The Frozen Crown will be available for purchase in January 2021.

The Frozen Crown by Greta Kelly

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The Companion by Katie Alender

I read The Companion by Katie Alender as part of my TBR and because it was one of my most anticipated reads.

We follow Margot whose entire family died in an accident and everyone tells her how lucky she is. But then Margot gets taken in by a wealthy family and finds out the true reason for their kindness: to be a Companion for their daughter with a strange illness. When Margot discovers the secrets lurking in the Copeland Hall estate, she can’t help but wonder: is she lucky?

I had really hyped this book and I’d heard such good things about this. Going into this book, I was expecting a creepy read. However, I didn’t really get creepy vibes while reading. In fact, I was pretty disappointed. Maybe I’ve watched too much ID channel or too many lifetime movies.

So the whole premise of this story is that Margot is always told how lucky she is. When she moves in with the Sutton’s at the Copeland Hall estate, she soon finds out that the house is full of mystery and secrets. Once strange things start happening, Margot is left questioning her luck. I had read an excerpt of this book and was so excited to find out what happens. It seemed so promising and like the perfectly spooky story to get me ready for Halloween. Unfortunately, the execution did not pan out.

The Companion: My Verdict

Described in some parts almost as a living thing, we’re supposed to think of Copeland Hall as a haunted house with untold secrets and overall a spooky vibe. In some aspects of the book this worked well, but for the most part I just didn’t get a general haunted-house-spooky vibe at all. I think that is one of the biggest problems with this book. We’re supposed to be thinking that part of the reason Agatha gets sick is from something in the house. Nothing made me connect the house with her illness or even creeped me out.

There were a lot of things that didn’t have any backstory or “tied ends.” I wanted more on Laura. She made comments and then that would be it. I wanted more information or context; why did she hate the phrase “right as rain?” I understand wanting a complex character but it just felt forced to make for an unstable character. I also didn’t understand Margot in the fact that she questioned things and acted like she knew what was going on but still went along with what was happening. Why make her wary and naive at the same time? I wasn’t exactly sure what Alender was trying to do.

Probably one of the biggest issues I personally had was that it was too predictable. There were no twists in it that I did not see coming. This felt like a lifetime movie I’ve seen more than once.

While I wasn’t a fan of it, it has a high rating on Goodreads. Many do enjoy it and think it is creepy enough and has enough twists and turns for their liking. If you’re into mysterious estates and dysfunctional families with secrets, definitely check it out. Maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did!

The Companion by Katie Alender

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

I read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White as one of my buddy reads this month. Since it was a retelling of a classic with a female protagonist, I was really excited to read it.

We follow Elizabeth, a girl who was taken in by the Frankensteins as a child. Given food, shelter, and everything she could want or need, she’s to befriend Victor and be his companion. Together since childhood, they forge a tight knit bond. But appearances are often only surface deep and what’s lurking beneath the depths are hideous secrets better left unspoken. We follow her journey to finding Victor, the truth, and ultimately, herself.

I was really excited going into this book. A twist on a classic with a strong female protagonist? Sign me up! For some reason, I had also had notions that it was Elizabeth going mad that we were going to be reading about. And, I love a good story with an unreliable narrator, so that was another check in this books column. While the book wasn’t bad, my own expectations had caused me to be disappointed with it.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: The Nitty-Gritty

First of all, let me reiterate, this was a good book. The reason I was disappointed with it is because I had my own expectations that weren’t met. I really enjoyed the characterization of Elizabeth. The way that we are privy to Elizabeth’s thoughts as she questions her motives and her courses of actions, I thought this was excellent. It made her character more authentic and showed her desperation. The employment of flashbacks was done well. I’m not sure if I would have preferred it done in a different way or not; that’s something I wondered about as well while reading.

One thing that bothered me was that, despite the fact that this was a retelling with a female protagonist, I still felt like it was mainly about Victor. Even though we are reading through Elizabeth’s point of view, the whole story is centered around Victor and his madness and his brilliance. I understand their relationship and why this was, but it just felt like it was still mostly Victor’s story. I wanted more of Elizabeth.

Overall, this book was good. It wasn’t what I had been expecting but it wasn’t a bad read. I enjoyed reading it but I can’t say it gave me too many spooky vibes, which is what I was hoping for. I do think it’s a good read and you should check it out, especially if you’re looking for a twist on the classic.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White