Down the Rabbit Hole

A rising media star must battle a diabolical enemy in this riveting tale of psychological suspense from Kate White, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sixes and Hush.

After a painful divorce and losing her on-air job two years ago, Robin Trainer has fought hard to regain her career. Now, as the popular cohost of a nightly entertainment show and the author of a hot new bestseller, she’s being dubbed a media double threat. In a business full of rivals eager to see you fail, making a comeback was tough, and Robin isn’t about to do anything that could jeopardize her newfound success.

But suddenly things begin going wrong. A few small but nasty incidents shake her confidence: a vicious note tucked into her purse at her book signing; the photo on her book jacket slashed in her office; a doll that looks just like her—but with its eyes gouged out—left on her desk chair. Soon the meanness turns threatening.

Someone has eyes on Robin, an adversary with a dark agenda who wants to hurt her and see her fall, and the clues point to someone she works with every day. As she frantically tries to put the pieces together and unmask an enemy hiding in the shadows all too close to her, it becomes terrifyingly clear that the person responsible isn’t going to stop until Robin loses everything that matters to her . . . including her life.

In this nail-biting thriller full of stunning twists, Kate White takes you behind the scenes of the glamorous, high-intensity world of television and ratchets up the suspense, page by page, to the shocking end.

1 Drink Me Potion

DNF at approximately 25%

I’m sad, but this is my very FIRST did-not-finish book I’ve ever opened. Sure, there were books that I may have put aside for a while, but I always eventually got back to them.

I just couldn’t stand the beginning. Robin was not a very interesting protagonist. It opens with her successful debut of some book that she wrote while also being co-anchor to some show that was slowly rising in fame and success as well. Yay, I’m glad for you, Robin, but OH MY GOODNESS, White really dwells heavily on the details of Robin’s career in the TV biz. I get that the author has experience in this area prior to writing novels, but this was getting on my nerves. I didn’t sign up to read this book because I wanted to know the intricate details of being an anchor. I opened it to read a juicy MYSTERY.

The mystery started off fine, I guess. Someone left a scary note in Robin’s purse while she wasn’t looking during the book launch party. Whoop-dee-doo. Maybe it got a ton better with the scary stuff later into the novel, but it was just so hard to pick up again when I knew she was just at her office prepping for her work that day.

It wasn’t just the mystery that was somewhat ruined for me. The romance! Where to start with that? I did NOT like that co-anchor of hers. So what if he was just recently available after some break up with his girlfriend? I don’t care! Maybe I’m just way too young to care about some “bad-boy” forty-one year old man and his love life, but seeing him flirt with Robin and vice versa just sat weirdly in my stomach.

Overall, I guess if this wasn’t listed as part of Overdrive’s Big Read project and was readily available, I probably would have NEVER picked up Eyes on You.

Overall Recommendation:
Expecting a deliciously scary and suspenseful novel with a freaky psycho stalking our protagonist, Eyes on You dwindled all those expectations bit by bit. It was slow in starting, and particularly focused on minute details of Robin’s life that seemed unnecessary. My interest levels dropped rapidly, and then took a plummet when the love interest was introduced. As co-anchor to Robin’s successful show, the chemistry felt too scripted and cliche. I couldn’t finish this book for all these reasons above and more. You can definitely find better mysteries with similar plots elsewhere.

Review: Are You Still There by Sarah Lynn Scheerger

June 27, 2015June 27, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Every year it takes the teachers until winter break
To learn my name. That’s why I call myself Stranger.
I am a stranger. To everyone.
Because no one knows me.
Or notices me. Just wait.
They will notice me soon.

After her high school is rocked by an anonymous bomb threat, “perfect student” Gabriella Mallory is recruited to work on a secret crisis helpline that may help uncover the would-be bomber’s identity.

Gabriella Mallory, AP student and perfect-daughter-in-training, stands barefoot on a public toilet for three hours while her school is on lockdown. Someone has planted a bomb and she is hiding. The bomb is defused but the would-be-bomber is still at large. And everyone at Central High School is a suspect. The school starts a top-secret crisis help line and Gabi is invited to join. When she does, she is drawn into a suspenseful game of cat and mouse with the bomber, who has unfinished business. He leaves threatening notes on campus. He makes threatening calls to the help line. And then he begins targeting Gabi directly. Is it because her father is the lead police detective on the case? Is the bomber one of her new friends. Could it be her new boyfriend with his complicated past? As the story unfolds, Gabi knows she is somehow connected to the bomber. Even worse she is part of his plan. Can Gabi reach out and stop him? Or will she be too late?

4 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Netgalley and Albert Whitman & Company for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

**Are You Still There comes out on September 1, 2015**

Are You Still There dived into the psyche of a disturbed individual who dubbed themselves as Stranger. We get the chance to glimpse at written entries of the Stranger’s Manifesto alternating with our protagonist Gabi’s POV as the school year progressed after the initial bombing attempt at the beginning of the book.

Although I would never side with what Stranger did, I have to admit that the Manifesto entries were one of my favourite parts of this book. They were written in poetic prose that was both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Why? Because it spoke so much of hurt and pain. Going unnoticed. Being a speck of dust that forever floats. Here was a kid who had nothing left to live for, and just wanted someone to notice for only a single moment.

This book was a thriller and a mystery, but seeing Stranger’s thoughts definitely upped my rating. Maybe I’m a little weird, and I do happen to have a huge fascination for the show Criminal Minds, so that might explain why I liked seeing the “bad guy’s” perspective. Sometimes people do stupid and awful things for no reason, but Are You Still There heavily reflects the central of theme of – you guessed it – high school bullying and resulting suicides .

It’s a deep topic. Normally I shy away from books that do because I just feel so SAD after reading them. Bullying is an awful thing that happens in every day life. I wish I could do more but it’s definitely more effective when it’s a group effort. Anyway, here’s a book that touched up on suicides as well, with Gabi and group of select students in her school chosen to be part of the Helpline, a peer hotline for kids to call in and talk after the events of the almost-bombing. I loved that it definitely highlighted the seriousness of bullying and its consequences, without letting it be so consuming that I just want to punch a few kids’ self-righteous noses.

Gabi was an okay protagonist. She was initially the perfect girl who does everything her micromanaging mother makes her do. A grades, never parties or gets into trouble, extra volunteering opportunities, and amazing university prospects in sight. With becoming a part of the Helpline, she meets people from all sorts of cliques around the school and really has to learn to broaden her horizons when it comes to people. Her newfound friendships (and even a relationship with a hot Latino boy!) were the catalysts for great changes that allowed her to understand her rebellious younger sister Chloe.

Gabi wasn’t always great though. Once the “bomber” seemed to have placed her into the Plan, she seemed to have developed some kind of God complex herself. Trying to contact Stranger on her own without letting her cop dad know too many details. Not letting her boyfriend, Miguel, try to protect her. She wasn’t all that nice to him at times, honestly. I don’t know why he stuck with her in those moments.

I had a minor problem in reading the book as it came in ebook format. Paragraphs were not indented properly, which made figuring out who was saying what in a conversation a little harder to interpret at times. Also, text messages were difficult to separate from actual words that described Gabi’s life, and they too were not indented so I had to slowly figure out the sender of each. I think this may only be a problem for those receiving an arc. Or at least, I sure hope so.

I guess I’m saying that this book was good in most aspects, minus certain Gabi moments (and the malfunction in formatting in the ebook format). However, I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and at guessing who Stranger was. There were definitely red herring moments and culprits that I sadly fell astray with. I thought the identity of Stranger was satisfying. It was not too obvious, but it wasn’t someone that Gabi never had in contact with either. The overall change and growth in Gabi’s character, along with insights into Stranger’s goals in getting the Helpline people to understand the bullying that went on in their school each day, were icing on top of the cake. I feel like hugging the next kid I see sitting alone at school. Are You Still There definitely touched a chord in my heart.

Overall Recommendation:
Intriguing and mysterious, Stranger is playing a game with the kids in at Central High. After an almost-bombing attempt at the beginning of the school year, Gabi and a few other students from varying cliques come together as part of the new Helpline for students to talk about anything bothering them anonymously. It was a touching book about understanding others and showcases the deadly consequences of bullying. With a satisfying conclusion and identity to Stranger, Are You Still There had me guessing till the end. Plus, the poetic entries in Stranger’s Manifesto about the Game of Life were haunting words that resonates more deeply than anything else this book had to offer.

Review: Invaded by Melissa Landers

June 25, 2015June 26, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Alienated #2

The romantic sequel to Alienated takes long-distance relationships to a new level as Cara and Aelyx long for each other from opposite ends of the universe…until a threat to both their worlds reunites them.

Cara always knew life on planet L’eihr would be an adjustment. With Aelyx, her L’eihr boyfriend, back on Earth, working to mend the broken alliance between their two planets, Cara is left to fend for herself at a new school, surrounded by hostile alien clones. Even the weird dorm pet hates her.

Things look up when Cara is appointed as human representative to a panel preparing for a human colony on L’eihr. A society melding their two cultures is a place where Cara and Aelyx could one day make a life together. But with L’eihr leaders balking at granting even the most basic freedoms, Cara begins to wonder if she could ever be happy on this planet, even with Aelyx by her side.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Aelyx, finds himself thrown into a full-scale PR campaign to improve human-L’eihr relations. Humans don’t know that their very survival depends on this alliance: only Aelyx’s people have the technology to fix the deadly contamination in the global water supply that human governments are hiding. Yet despite their upper hand, the leaders of his world suddenly seem desperate to get humans on their side, and hardly bat an eye at extremists’ multiple attempts on Aelyx’s life.

The Way clearly needs humans’ help . . . but with what? And what will they ask for in return?

4 Drink Me Potions

Alternating between the events happening in Cara and Aelyx’s life, this sequel to Alienated surprisingly held its own.

Although some fans may be saddened that Aelyx and Cara are physically apart for quite a lot of the book, I found that kind of refreshing. It’s not like they didn’t contact each other on their com-spheres (this alien world version of a cell phone I’m guessing). There’s still “romance” going on, but it’s not the main highlight this time around.

So what was Invaded about then?

In Cara’s half of the story, she was faced with learning the cultures and ways of a life over with the L’eihrs. I found it quite interesting to see how these aliens ruled and lived by. There was definitely plenty of intrigue when it came to the aliens’ obvious despise for her presence among them, escalating quickly when it became clear someone was trying to frame her for things she did not do.

Over on Aelyx’s side, Earth was not that much better for him. After the events of the previous novel, let’s just say the Earthlings do not trust him very much. Attempts were made on his life, and the motive and culprit behind these acts were not always predictable. Okay, well, it was a little predictable with one of the twists in the plot, but I was in denial through half of the book hoping it wouldn’t go there.

Sadly, I was wrong but it did make the story more interesting and unpredictable…

Either way, Aelyx and Cara both had busy plotlines and I enjoyed reading them both even though they weren’t together. My only complaint is the resolution for Cara’s problems which I felt were rushed in places that could have been prolonged in order to add suspense instead of just making me say Oh, they found out what happened already?. All in all, not a bad read and definitely entertaining. It never suffered too much drag as I think Landers is unsure of whether this book will be the last or not. It most definitely can continue with a very delicious tidbit of knowledge that was placed near the end, but I guess time will tell whether or not a third book will become a reality.

Overall Recommendation:
Invaded held intriguing plot twists for both Cara and Aelyx’s stories as they each deal with living on the others’ planet. Cara is off adventuring to the unknown of living with the L’eihrs while Aelyx is trying to – well – not be killed by the people that hate him. Although romance was not heavily pressed upon, the story still had its sweet moments but it most definitely centres on working out the differences between the two species. With an ending that can potentially spin out into a third book, Invaded was a nice sequel and laid out a foundation for hopefully another one.