YA Contemporary

Nocturnal Meetings of the Misplaced by R.J. Garcia

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Finished: October 3, 2018

R. J. is one of my fellow writers over at Parliament House Press, and when I heard about this book, I simply had to pick it up!

My review:

I didn’t expect this to be a roller coaster ride, folks. I didn’t expect this to be a book that was a compulsory read once I hit that halfway point. I had trouble putting it down and then looked forward to when I got the chance to pick it up again. When I recently had my Kindle stolen, I was devastated because I wanted to finish this book so bad!

This story starts out with Tommy moving to a new town and having to adjust. He makes new friends: Finn, Silence, and Annie. Things seem pretty normal, until they turn for the worst. I don’t want to say too much because this slow-burn thriller is too good to spoil, but let’s just say when things get real, they get real fast. As a debut novel, I’m super impressed and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from R.J. down the road! The suspense, the environment, the struggles of these four kids really hit home. You feel for these four and they’re all fighting their own battles. I’m happily giving this book five stars!

What I consider a 5-star book:

  1. Is it a fun read? Did I mention I had trouble putting it down??
  2. Would you recommend it to others? If thrillers in the vein of Stranger Thing appeal to you, then this is definitely a book to pick up!
  3. Does it stick with you? These characters are fantastic, and I think they’ll stick with me for a long time. But ya’ll know how I am. I love characters dealing with dark turns.

My overall rating? 5/5

Bacon Pie by Candace Robinson and Gerardo Delgadillo

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Finished: June 7, 2018

Candace is one of my fellow writers over at Parliament House Press, and offered me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. How could I resist, I mean have you seen that cover? And trust me, this book is just as cute and colorful as the cover!

My review:

Oh my gosh, this book is so much fun! It’s full of adorable, romantic silliness but it’s also not afraid to take on darker topics as well. One of the first stand-out pieces (or slices hehe) was the amount of diversity! We have Kiev, who is Mexican and speaks Spanish while at home. We have Lia, who has a mom and two dads (her father and mother got divorced, and now he’s with her second dad). Then we have Barnabus, a goth kid whose family immigrated from Cambodia and is an incredible harpist. I mean, any one of these people sound like they would be fun to hang out with, but all of them in one book? Just fantastic!

Oh and did I mention that Kiev has a pet armadillo? As someone who lives in the southeast of the U.S., we see these little guys a lot, and the idea of him keeping one as a pet just made me smile every time. I don’t want to give anything away, but he totally steals the show too.

It also isn’t afraid to handle some dark topics, but in a light manner so as not to drag the book down, which I appreciated! There was family drama, substance abuse, obsession, and anger issues, but handled in a fairly positive way the entire way through. We need more books like this, that show incredible diversity and give positive examples of managing hurdles in life.

Overall this was a super adorable YA Contemporary that will leave you thinking on this group for a while. Plus the book is on sale on Kindle right now at $0.99, and it’s totally worth picking up! Definitely a great book to take to the beach!

What I consider a 5-star book:

  1. Is it a fun read? These characters really make you love them!
  2. Would you recommend it to others? For fans of cute, romantic antics that don’t mind touching on some poignant topics on occaision, this is definitely the book for you!
  3. Does it stick with you? I’m probably going to think of Bacon Pie every time I see an armadillo to be honest. xD

My overall rating? 5/5