I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh, narrated by Justine O. Keef. I loved the story and, leaving lack of a New Zealand accent, the narration was very good too.
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Why I read it: I picked this one up cheap when it was an Audible Daily Deal.
Content warning: The book contains themes of suicide, disordered eating, homophobia, abuse/neglect and self-harm.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) According to sixteen-year-old Zander Osborne, nowhere is an actual place—and she’s just fine there. But her parents insist that she get out of her head—and her home state—and attend Camp Padua, a summer camp for at-risk teens.
Zander does not fit in—or so she thinks. She has only one word for her fellow campers: crazy. In fact, the whole camp population exists somewhere between disaster and diagnosis. There’s her cabinmate Cassie, a self-described manic-depressive-bipolar-anorexic. Grover Cleveland (yes, like the president), a cute but confrontational boy who expects to be schizophrenic someday, odds being what they are. And Bek, a charmingly confounding pathological liar.
But amid group “share-apy” sessions and forbidden late-night outings, unlikely friendships form, and as the Michigan summer heats up, the four teens begin to reveal their tragic secrets. Zander finds herself inextricably drawn to Grover’s earnest charms, and she begins to wonder if she could be happy. But first she must come completely unraveled to have any hope of putting herself back together again.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): What a lovely surprise this audiobook was. I didn’t really know what to expect going in to be honest. I tend to be more adventurous with audiobooks though and the title and blurb promised some romance so I took the plunge.
While there is a romance, it isn’t the major theme of the book and it’s not even the most prominent relationship. It was sweet and I enjoyed it but Zander and Grover are only 16 so it wasn’t the fall-in-love-and-be-together-forever-and-ever-happily-ever-after I mostly read. It did end on a happy hopeful note but the point of the book wasn’t really about Zander having a HEA romantically.
The story is told in first person present tense which I don’t mind at all (in fact, I quite like it, especially on audio) but not everyone does, so it’s worth mentioning here. Each chapter begins with a brief letter, most often from one of the campers home but the rest of the book is told from Zander’s POV. For most of the book, we don’t know why Zander is at Camp Padua, a summer camp in Michigan for at-risk teens. We know there’s something but not exactly what. We slowly find things out as the story progresses until the full truth is revealed. At times I found it slightly frustrating (because I’m impatient) but I understood why, from a narrative and story perspective, the reveal took time. Zander wasn’t going to tell anyone until she trusted them. And trust takes time. Also, the impact of why Zander came to camp is so much more once you’ve spent some time in Zander’s head. Continue reading
I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews. Fabulous bridging novella to the next full length book in the Hidden Legacy series. Catalina is pretty awesome.
Monthly Mini Review
Strong by Kylie Scott – B- It’s been a very long time since I’ve read any of the Stage Dive books so I admit it took me a while to remember Martha and her history with the band but after a chapter or so it all came flooding back. Martha is Ben’s (the bass player’s) sister and former publicity assistant to the band as well as former girlfriend of David Ferris (hero from Lick). Martha was not a great person in Lick; she tried to split Ev and David up! (Boo! Hiss!) However, it is nice to get see a different side of a character and for a “bitch” to get a HEA. Martha is still prickly; she hasn’t had a personality transplant, but she has matured in the years since she left Stage Dive’s employ and enough time has passed that she’s put away the hurt she felt over her failed relationship with David.
Sam, the bodyguard and head of Stage Dive’s security has had a thing for Martha for a decade. He’s a very patient man. But the time is now right. Martha has returned to the fold. She’s staying in Portland and looking after Ben and Lizzy’s toddler son, Gibson, while Lizzy attends college. The nanny gig is temporary but she needs to be away from New York and around family for a while. She was mugged and assaulted (not sexually) in New York and doesn’t feel safe there anymore. Continue reading
I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Band Sinister by KJ Charles. A charming delight.
I’m over at AudioGals with a review of From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata, narrated by Callie Dalton & Teddy Hamilton. A very slow start but it picked up by the end.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
