Book Review: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

Title: Allegedly
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary
Pages: 390
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Year Published: 2017
Format: Audiobook (Own the Physical Copy)

"Mary B. Addison killed a baby. 

Allegedly. She didn't say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn't say.

Mary survived six years in baby jail before being dumped in a group home. The house isn't really 'home'- no place where you fear for your life can be considered a home. Home is Ted, who she meets on assignment at a nursing home.

There wasn't a point to setting the record straight before, but now she's got Ted- and their unborn child- to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past. And her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But who really knows the real Mary?"

My Rating: 4.5/5

This author's writing is truly out of this world! It constantly amazes me with the twists, turns and the writing is all remarkable. I just wished that there had been some different writing at the start to hook me into the plot earlier on. That being said by a quarter of the way through the book I was incredibly excited to continue on and was unsure of where the plotline was going. I think that the characters in both of the Tiffany D. Jackson books I've read have been intricately written, but also incredibly unreliable. I look forward to reading more of work and would strongly recommend them to lovers of mystery. 

Thanks for, reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Everlasting Rose

Title: The Everlasting Rose

Author: Dhonielle Clayton

Series/Standalone: The Belles Series (Book #2)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 344

Publisher: Freeform

Year Published: 2019

Format: Audiobook

"In this sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller, Camille, her sister Edel, and her guard and new love Remy must race against time to find Princess Charlotte. Sophia's Imperial forces will stop at nothing to keep the rebels from returning Charlotte to the castle and her rightful place as queen. With the help of an underground resistance movement called The Iron Ladies- a society that rejects beauty treatments entirely- and the backing of alternative newspaper The Spider's Web, Camille uses her powers, her connections and her cunning to outwit her greatest nemesis, Sophia, and restore peace to Orleans."

My Rating:  4/5

I don't know what it is about second books that just don't always do it for me. I know that it's been mentioned in the past that there will only be 2 books, for now. So I think for the time being this will remain a duology. It wrapped up in a way that could be taken to another level or left regardless. I appreciate that. That being said I wanted a bit more detail about the Iron Ladies and how they began.I was curious about how Princess Sophia became the way she did. I'm also curious about how the young belles acted and what seeing them born would be like. I still love the characters and the world. I think that the idea is unique and the world is so well throughout! I will be reading more work from Dhonielle Clayton in the future!

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

Title: The Girl You Left Behind

Author: Jojo Moyes

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Adult, Romance

Pages: 480

Publisher: Penguin Books

Year Published: 2012

Format: Audiobook

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, a sweeping bestseller of love and loss, deftly weaving two journeys from World War I France to present day London.

Paris, World War I. Sophie Lefevre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Edouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie's portrait- painted by her artist husband- a dangerous obsession is born.

Almost a century later in London, Sophie's portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait's true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv's world is turned upside all over again."

My Rating: 2.5/5

I remember hearing about this book from someone, and to be honest I'm not even sure where I heard about it. The concept interested me. The idea of a painting that has travelled and how it got where it is interesting to me. The problem for me was that the characters just weren't fleshed out enough. I felt that they were made intentionally sad, which is fine, but I was more told to feel sad for them then truly shown their suffering in any way. There just wasn't enough connection for me. I felt like the character of Sophie was the character that I connected the most with and even then that wasn't until closer to the end of the story. Overall, I found that this book was just ok. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you're really pulled in by plot lines alone. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager

Title: Final Girls

Author: Riley Sager

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult

Pages: 342

Publisher: Dutton

Year Published: 2017

Format: Audiobook

"Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie-scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to- a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and with that, one another. Despite the media's attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well- maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiance, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won't even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy's doorstep. Blowing through Quincy's life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa's death come to light, Quincy's life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished."

My Rating: 4/5

I'm so glad that I've finally read my first Riley Sager book because I've been meaning to read some of his work forever. I thought that starting with his debut (I think) and working my way up would interest me. Overall, this book was really good. I loved the premise, I thought that the idea of it was super intriguing and I was curious throughout. That being said, I definitely thought I knew where it was going. I did not. I was super impressed with the twists and turns throughout the book, the ability to write gruesome scenes with such detail, but without going over the top was incredible. The different time changes helped to draw out the story and held my interest. The only reason that I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 stars was because it seemed to lull a little bit in the middle for me. I look forward to reading more of this author's work and would strongly recommend the audiobook. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny