Book Review: They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

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Rating: ☆
Audience: YA Thriller
Length: 330 pages
Author: Jessica Goodman
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: July 27th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From rising star Jessica Goodman, author of They Wish They Were Us, comes a new fast-paced thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team–the only way out of their stifling small town. But their dreams are suddenly thrown into peril when a new girl threatens to take away everything they’ve worked for… until she disappears.

Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won’t let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course.

The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers’ lives are upended when Mila comes to town. Mila was the top runner on her team back home and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can’t help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie’s been looking for a friend. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong–she’s someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she’d never be: distracted.

With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won’t let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.

I DID NOT LIKE THIS.

Whatsoever.

The further this went one the more I cringed. And I don’t like suuuper long rants so I’ll run over the lowlights.

This felt like a girl vs. girl hate fest. Nobody was likeable. And everyone was just terrible to each other. I hate that. I get that, obviously, girls won’t like each other sometimes, but when it takes over the entire book I’m really missing the support of ANYONE to redeem the plot. Not to mention all of the other side characters who weren’t likable either. Everything felt forced to create this culture of hate and it didn’t make this thriller book…thrilling.

Part of the plot is the fact 3 previous girls have been murdered by someone. And guess what? YOU NEVER ACTUALLY FIND OUT WHO. It’s brought up often enough that I expected to get an answer about it. I couldn’t believe there was never closure for those girls too.

And random crap like saying a 3k (5.1 miles) was 6 laps around a track??? No. That’s not right either. For a sports [cross country] based book, I don’t like some clear gaps in reserach.

There’s just a tidbit of my issues with this read. It was not good. And not worth the time.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Thriller
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: kisses to brief open
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, alcoholism (of a parent, who went to rehab, had one relapse and is okay during the book), cheating, abortion, substance abuse (another parent who abuses drugs)

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Book Review: A Dance with the Fae Prince (Married to Magic #2) by Elise Kova

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 374 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: August 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She knew her hand in marriage would be sold. She had no idea a fae prince was the buyer.

Katria swore she’d never fall in love. She’s seen what “love” means through the cruelty of her family. So when she’s married off to the mysterious Lord Fenwood for a handsome price, all Katria wants is a better life than the one she’s leaving. Feelings are off the table.

But her new husband makes not falling in love difficult.

As their attraction begins to grow, so too do the oddities within her new life: strange rules, screams in the night, and attacks by fae that Katria never thought were real. When she witnesses a ritual not meant for human eyes, Katria finds herself spirited away to the land of Midscape.

Surviving the fae wilds as a human is hard enough. Katria must survive as a human who accidently pilfered the magic of ancient kings – magic a bloodthirsty king is ready to kill her for in order to keep his stolen throne – and her new husband is the rightful heir in hiding.

The power to save the fae is in her hands. But who will save her from a love she vowed never to feel?

THIS COVER IS EVERYTHING.

I can’t help my obsession with this cover. It’s just gorgeous. Every time I pulled up this book to read I stared at it some more because I couldn’t have enough. It is what it is.

ANYWAYS, I guess I’ll discuss the book now.

The first half was realllll slow. Really slow. The romantic slow build up was working for me, but the plot slow build with the Fae lands was not. They kept clashing and I didn’t know how I was going to enjoy it by the end.

Cue the second half. Much appreciated that this got a lot of momentum and was actually interesting. Once the blindfolds were removed, hot dang the chemistry between Katria and Davien was finally able to take off. THANK HEAVENS.

After that it did become fairly predictable (it’s a Cinderella retelling). Which can be bad and good. I really did end up loving the romance between Katira and Davien and felt that passion and tension. They were pretty enigmatic and I felt caught up in Davien’s vivid green eyes myself (see, cover obsession acknowledgement prior). Katria also got a much needed character arc before my frustrations grew anymore. I’m really handing this star ranking over to the second half of this book. It’s whimsical, it’s romantic, and I do like the set-up for book three.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance / Retelling
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses to brief open
  • Violence: physical altercations, weaponry, kidnapping, magical attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, child abuse

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Book Review: The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time #4) by Robert Jordan

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 940 pages
Author: Robert Jordan
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: September 15th, 1992
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind.

In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.

In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.

In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.

Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn.

GETTING THERE.

Somewhere along the halfway point of this 1000 page saga, the book clicked. I finally felt like I am into this series and want to continue.

I love a good big fantasy that moves through multiple points of view, characters, and areas in the world. There’s a wild amount of things that happen, and you can feel everything starting to slowly connect. And getting to watch some character growth and big decisions being made. I like many of these storylines and that each character has a distinct voice. It’s easy to know who’s voice is speaking.

Yes, it’s definitely a slow haul. Highly recommend using the audio as a companion because it made it a bit quicker to fly through.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: The Stable Master’s Son (Sons of Somerset #2) by Mindy Burbidge Strunk

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Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 221 pages
Author: Mindy Burbidge Strunk
Publisher: FiveJoys Press
Release Date: August 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She always dreamed of marrying a gentleman, not someone from the stables.

Edmund Jenkins’ life is on track. Through hard work and a fair amount of luck, he now owns an estate, and his horses are renowned throughout Somerset. His breeding business is on track to expand and everything as it should be. That is until he meets Miss Carter. His attraction to her is strong and immediate, but she cannot seem to see him as anything other than a groom.

As the daughter of a baron, Miss Elizabeth Carter never thought she would be a spinster, let alone have to work as a governess. When Lord Duhurst seems willing to make her an offer, complete with an estate and a title, Elizabeth is ready to seize the opportunity with both hands. If only she could stop thinking on Mr. Jenkins. He is not the man of her dreams. Or is he? But how could she ever make the life she had dreamed of with a man barely better off than servant?

As the time draws near for the banns to be posted, Elizabeth must decide if security or love is more important.

FRUSTRATION STATION.

I really wanted to love this. It just hit the mark on many things that I found myself skimming most of the book.

I did like Phillip. He felt like a real character who knew what he wanted and worked hard towards those goals. I like that Phillip made mistakes but also could apologize. He had some sweet moments with Elle and I was really pulling for him to see things through for his horses.

For Elle I felt eternally frustrated with her. She was wishy washy and hemming and hawing over every little thing Phillip (or anyone) did or said to her. I wanted her convictions to come through sooner and not in the closing chapter.

Phillip and Elle seemed to have chemistry, but for both of them, I felt like they were too involved in their own personal storylines. They took awhile to cross paths enough for me to be truly swept up in their romance. It’s a very short book and more purpose could’ve been put into the main plot line.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, stealing assets, impersonation and identity theft

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