Tag: romance

4 star, YA

ARC Review: Don’t Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Present Day:
Eva has never felt like she belonged… not in her own family or with her friends in New York City, and certainly not at a fancy boarding school like Hardwick Preparatory Academy. So when she is invited to join the Fives, an elite secret society, she jumps at the opportunity to finally be a part of something.

But what if the Fives are about more than just having the best parties and receiving special privileges from the school? What if they are also responsible for keeping some of Hardwick’s biggest secrets buried?

1962:
There is only one reason why Connie would volunteer to be one of the six students to participate in testing Hardwick’s nuclear fallout shelter: Craig Allenby. While the thought of nuclear war sends her into a panic, she can’t pass up the opportunity to spend four days locked in with the school’s golden boy. However, Connie and the other students quickly discover that there is more to this “test” than they previously thought. As they are forced to follow an escalating series of commands, Connie realizes that one wrong move could have dangerous consequences.

Separated by sixty years , Eva’s and Connie’s stories become inextricably intertwined as Eva unravels the mystery of how six students went into the fallout shelter all those years ago . . . but only five came out.

**Don’t Breathe a Word comes out May 18, 2021**

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Don’t Breathe a Word is another successful story that combines dual POVs across different timelines that mesh together in a compelling read. In the present day, Eva finds herself sent off to a private boarding school literally last minute (thanks, mean family). Trying to fit into a crowd that has grown up together since the fifth grade is super tough. Enter a group who IS willing to take her under their wing. Little does she know, this group functions more like a secret society than a regular bunch of friends. The question is, are they harmless or are they hiding something more sinister?

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3 star, YA

Review: Namesake by Adrienne Young

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Fable #2

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and the rest of the crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when Fable becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination, she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.

As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception, she learns that the secrets her mother took to her grave are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them, then she must risk everything—including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

Another seafaring journey for Fable in this sequel to her titular book, Namesake starts off where the first one ended, carrying Fable farther away from her friends and newfound family into the unknown across the sea.

I didn’t have any particularly strong feelings for book 1 so I wasn’t sure what to expect for book 2. And what I found I enjoyed immensely more here was Fable’s individual journey away from the crew she had just joined. Alone and seeing a familiar face on the ship taking her captive, she didn’t know who to turn to for help or guidance except herself. Her strength came in her decisive actions, whether that be to observe and bide her time or to act with the risk of everything falling apart.

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4 star, YA

Review: Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Stalking Jack the Ripper #4

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London they knew. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World’s Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders.

Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they’ve heard of before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him—and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed as a terrifying torture device—is another.

Will Audrey Rose and Thomas see their last mystery to the end—together and in love—or will their fortunes finally run out when their most depraved adversary makes one final, devastating kill?

And here we are, the grand finale of this series! Part of me is sad that it had to come to an end, but at the same time, now that everything is wrapped up, I’m also glad that it was tied to a bow and just let sail. What a fantastic series – it was truly something special, and I’m so glad that Andge suggested it to me.

Here, Andge actually rated this book a 3.5 Drink Me Potions, her lowest rating for this series, and even with my 4, it is also my lowest. I think we both agree that in terms of the mystery and intrigue, and the dark macabre adventures of our favourite two protagonists, this last novel falls short. The story revolves more around the nuptials of Audrey Rose and Thomas, and their romantic story as it develops in America.

Capturing The Devil follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell in their final adventure together – this time in New York – late 19th century New York, that is. The devil himself has now come to haunt the streets of America, too reminiscent of the past killings by Jack the Ripper. Will Audrey Rose and Thomas be able to solve the mystery before it’s too late? And what else stands in the way of their love?

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