2023 Books Reviewed

Live Your Best Lie / Jessie Weaver

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment
Photo of the book cover "Life Your Best Lie: by Jessie Weaver. The cover itself is of a round bathroom mirror with the words "Live Your Best Lie" written in lipstick on the glass. The photo is on an iPad and is in front of a computer screen with Instagram on the screen.
A 4 Star Gold Rating
Live Your Best Lie
By: Jessie Weaver
Genre: YA, Mystery
Number of Pages: 368
Published: January 24, 2023
Publisher: Disney Books / Melissa de la Cruz Studio
Dates Read: January 25, 2023 - January 30, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Trigger Warning: bullying, murder, child abuse, toxic relationship

Summer Cartwright seemed like she had it all: millions of online followers, admirers all around, trendy clothes for her closet, and  a crazy huge book deal coming out soon. Every second of Summer’s life is planned and cultivated to show her #LivingHerBestLife.

When Summer shows up dead at her own Halloween party following an unscheduled post, most eyes turn towards four people: her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, her frenemy, and her – what some would say – the wannabe stalker. The four band together to figure out who the real killer is before someone else gets the blame.

Live Your Best Lie is told through multiple POVs, flashbacks, and Summer’s social media posts and is a fast-paced mystery that is constantly switching lenses between the top suspects. You get clues starting from page one, and of course, some of them you don’t realize until the last few pages. Jessie Weaver did an amazing job at keeping the answers just out of reach until she was ready to give you the answers. There were a handful of times I backtracked pages to relook at something I had a hunch about – and that to me, is a good mystery / thriller.

For those who love true crime and books like One of Us is Lying, they will devour this book as well. Weaver keeps you tangled up and interested until the very end when there’s a twist you don’t see coming!

*Thank you Disney Book, Melissa de la Cruz Studio, NetGalley, and Publishers Weekly for an advanced ebook of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Nick and Charlie: A Heartstopper Novella / Alice Oseman

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment
A photo of the novella, "Nick and Charlie" by Alice Oseman being held by a woman in a pink sweater with red lipstick prints all over
A 5 Star Gold Rating
Nick and Charlie: A Heartstopper Novella
By: Alice Oseman
Genre: YA, Romance
Number of Pages: 176
Published: January 3, 2023 (July 16, 2015)
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Dates Read: January 24, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: mention of eating disorder recovery

Nick is leaving for university soon, and Charlie, a year younger, will be left behind to finish his last year of school. Everyone keeps asking them if they’re going to stay together, and Nick and Charlie both think that’s a silly question… at first. As the time for departure gets closer and closer, the boys start to question whether or not their love is strong enough for the distance – because of this, communication is mixed up and things begin to spiral. Can the boys’ love survive?

What a cute and adorable novella in the Nick and Charlie universe! I absolutely loved the graphic novels, so I knew I would enjoy this novella too. I haven’t read any of Alice Oseman’s novels yet, so this was kind of a sneak peak for me to see her writing style outside of graphic novels – and I really enjoyed it. Oseman was able to convey descriptions of what was happening, in the various first person POVs of Nick and Charlie, well and I know that can be a bit of a challenge when writing it versus drawing it.

I’m glad Oseman still brought up Charlie’s eating troubles and what that looks like years down the line. As it was kind of mentioned, it’s not something that just “gets fixed”, and it’s something Charlie is constantly working on and something that Nick is aware of (like the eating of snacks). 

This was a nice and cute, quick and short read. Totally started the book at 9 in the evening and had it finished before bed. I highly recommend this to lovers of the Heartstopper series as you’ll get the same lovey-dovey feels you got from the graphic novels! 

The Dryer Island Boys / Jeffrey Veatch

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Image of the cover of "The Dyer Island Boys" by Jeffrey Veatch .
A 3 Star Gold Rating
The Dyer Island Boys
By: Jeffrey Veatch
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 192
Published: November 28, 2022
Publisher: Colossal Publishing
Dates Read: January 19, 2023 - January 23, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a feel good, coming-of-age story set spanning from the late 1940’s to recent day.

*Thank you to the author and Reedsy Discovery for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Read my full review here

Unseelie / Ivelisse Housman

/ Alisha Helms / 1 Comment
Photo of an Advance Readers Copy of the novel "Unseelie" by Ivelisse Housman. The cover has two girls, twins standing in the forest. One twin has a long side braid and is wearing a red dress, electricity is crackling in her left hand. Her sister, who looks just like her, but with short, shoulder length hair, stands in all black behind her.
A 3 Star Gold Rating
Unseelie
By: Ivelisse Housman
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 432
Published: January 3, 2023
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Dates Read: January 7, 2023 - January 18, 2023
Format: ARC

A few years ago, there was an accident in Seelie and Isolde’s home village and ever since, they’ve been on the run. Seelie is an autistic changeling trying to understand and control her unpredictable magic – it doesn’t help that she finds it almost as difficult to fit in with the humans around her. Her sister Isolde, is an amazing pickpocketer and uses her skills to keep them alive. When a heist goes wrong, the twins find themselves in a larger mystery than they expected and discover secrets of the history of both faeries and humans. With new companions on their adventure can Seelie get control of her magic in time to protect her sister.

“The perfect start to any morning. Who needs coffee when you have the icy shock of mortal terror?”

I was pretty excited to read this book portraying an autistic main character written by someone who is on the spectrum themselves. It is a wonderful portrayal for children and young adults to see themselves represented, especially in a fantasy, magic filled world like we see in Unseelie. Seelie’s character is honest and true, and you see this world through her eyes – with and without overstimulating events.

Each of the four main characters were fun to meet and learn about – though I am hoping we get to see more flushed out history of both Raze and Olani in the next book. 

The pacing of this novel was a bit slow in places, especially in the middle and then the ending kind of hit you fiercely. I didn’t realize this would be a duology until the last few pages, especially since nothing really wrapped up and you were kind of left with unexplained events and a cliffhanger. That being said though, I am super excited for the next book in the series and will for sure be waiting for that to hit the shelves.

*Thank you Inkyard Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review