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Teen SRC 2021 – All This Time by Mikki Daughtry

I’m not much of a romance reader. I’m more of the “fantasy, horror, and phycological thriller mix that keeps you awake past midnight thinking about the book” kind of person. But, you know, I saw this book at the library and I give full credit to the cover art, because if it hadn’t been that darn elegant, I probably wouldn’t have picked the book up in the first place. So, All This Time is a fiction romance novel by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott, that sends you on a whole whirlpool of emotions.

When Kyle’s girlfriend dies in a car crash, he can’t find the motivation to do anything. Kyle blames himself for Kimberly’s death, and it seems that everything around him is a constant reminder of the nagging pain over his loss. And then he meets Marley – a girl who’s suffered from her own loss – and Kyle slowly starts recovering, his life becoming more whole than it ever had been. There’s a problem, though. Does Kyle really like Marley as “just a friend?” And even though Marley’s all sunshine and rainbows on the outside, that doesn’t mean she’s completely healed from her loss…

Can I just say…I don’t re-read books. Unless I’m bored out of my mind, I rarely read books again. Why? Well, there’s plenty of new books out there that I want to read, and I wouldn’t want to spend my time reading the same plot that i’ve already read instead. And anyway, not a lot of books are interesting enough to re-read anyway. Or so I thought. I must’ve re-read this book around…four times?! I even returned it, and then borrowed it again from the library just to read it a second time. THAT’S how good it is. The plot twists are truly amazing, and completely unpredictable. You become so, so attached to the characters, so when you read about them, you actually feel something for Kyle and Marley. All This Time describes emotions in the most precise way possible, and even for me, a black-hearted “sadist” who likes to read about murders, this book was heartbreaking.

(sadist/saddest? get it?! worst pun ever, I know, but I have no sense of humour… so there you are.)

This is definitely my favourite romance book. Yeah, I mean, it’s true that I’ve only read like two romance books in my life, but I have a feeling this one’s going to stay at the top for quite the while. Are all romance books this good?! Hopefully not, otherwise my favourite “fantasy, horror, and phycological thriller mix that keeps you awake past midnight thinking about the book” thing might possibly get bumped down to second-favourite genre. 10/10 for All This Time with no hesitation!

Teen SRC 2021 – An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi

Have you ever read a book with so much potential only for it to turn out a boring and unappealing romance? Then you know exactly what I feel because An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi turned out to be a great disappointment for me (similar to her other standalone novel A Very Large Expanse of Sea). I think this review will be more of a rant than anything… but if I’m being unduly harsh it’s because this book claims Muslim representation (with a hijabi on the cover!!) but does not deliver. Maybe it’s just the right thing for some Muslims (and I don’t begrudge them for liking it) but it did not do for me.

(This is a side note because it’s not entirely this book’s fault, but why is there not a single book out there with a female Muslim protagonist that does NOT involve romance/boys? This is slowly becoming one of my BIGGEST pet peeves because it implies that Muslim women don’t matter except in correlation to a man, or that romance is the pinnacle of our achievement. Female characters in general are bogged down with unnecessary relationships (in my opinion) but it’s especially apparent with Muslim female characters for some reason. Not to mention that most Muslim women prefer not to date without the intention of marriage like… why purposely include it even then? It’s all just very messy and unrealistic.)

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Teen SRC 2021 – The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

The Beauty That Remains - Woodfolk, Ashley

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk is a heartbreaking story about loss. The story is told in the perspective of three characters, Shay, who lost her twin sister, Logan who lost his ex (a boy he still loved) and Autumn, who lost her best friend. The characters each use music to deal with grief.

What I loved about this book was how flawed the characters were. Logan using alcohol as a coping mechanism and Shay pushing her friends away made their emotions honest and real. It also made the book impossible to read without crying… Another great thing about this book was that the characters, although grieving, were still relatable.

I’d rate this book a 9/10. It got a lot of points for diversity and representation, though I’d argue that there was some underlying biphobia that should’ve been challenged as the characters developed.

Even though this book is sad, I would definitely recommend it! Happy reading!

Teen Book Review- Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper - Maniscalco, Kerri

Dark historical fiction and mystery books are definitely my favourite genre to read, and I was so excited when I found Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco series. Don’t let the horrendous covers fool you! (I was wary at first, too.) But now that I’m two books in—with two more books to go—I’m completely in love with this series! By the way, I won’t be doing a synopsis thing, but you can look for that in the link above.

Now, onto what this book has to offer: When the first scene of a book is that of a Victorian lady cutting up a body in her Uncle’s lab, you know it’s bound to be interesting. I will say, however, that the gruesome details (such as how a liver feels like in one’s hand) can get unappealing… I actually enjoyed them, but included a disclaimer because this kind of thing depends on the reader. The scientific gore (for lack of a better term) isn’t overdone though, and the fact that the main character, Audrey Rose, can do things like autopsies and talk about them reveals stuff about her personality we might not have gotten otherwise. Basically, yes there is blood-related stuff in this book but not too much (for me, at least).

To expand more on my former point, Audrey Rose is a wonderfully written main character. She has her flaws, but is still very lovable and easy to relate to. I adore how scientific minded she is—most books that boast about an intelligent female character don’t actually show that. Another testament to how rounded of a character Audrey Rose is: she is allowed to have emotions. I find too much of the “strong and smart female mc” trope means the character isn’t allowed to feel much and… like what is up with that? A character should be able to feel heavy emotions and sympathy without that detracting from their ability to be professional.

The book was off to a great start…and then we meet Thomas Cresswell. His job as a love interest in the plot is too obvious from the start, and of course he acts mysterious and arrogant, too. I did warm up to him, however, by the end of the book. His dialogue is too funny and witty! (I cannot anymore with charming book characters.)

If it’s not obvious already, I loved this book a lot. I don’t usually do series because they tend to drag on and get complicated, but STJTR immediately made me want to pick up the next book. Spoiler: It was just as, if not more, amazing. (Review on that coming up next!)

There are some minor setbacks, of course, but I wouldn’t discount the whole book based on them. The writing, for example, gets a bit tiresome at points. Audrey Rose describes every step it takes for her to get from one place to another, which is especially annoying when it’s an action-packed scene and I want to get to the next important bit. Also, there were some scenes that repeated incessantly throughout the book, which dragged the plot. For example, if I have to listen to Nathaniel tell Audrey Rose not to worry their father one more time…

Still, the overall setting and plot of this book was great. The mystery aspect was good (although I guessed a little too early for me to be completely impressed). Plus, I fell in love with the characters and how they were written. A solid 9/10 from me.