Sadie Spoiler Free Review

Sadie
by Courtney Summers

Release Date: September 4th, 2018

Synopsis:

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial-like podcast following the clues she's left behind.

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

My Thoughts:

I received an ARC through Netgalley for an honest review

I gave this story 4.5 stars. It was a wild ride. One of the only thriller/mystery novels I truly enjoyed. It’s heartbreaking and exhilarating all at once.

One of the genres I have a harder time reading is mystery/thrillers. They can be pretty hit or miss for me. Sadie was a hit. The way the story was told, half through Sadie’s perspective and half through a podcast. 

True Crime is one of my favorite topics. I love watching documentaries and reading up on them, just looking at all the facts and trying to see if I can come to some sort of conclusion. Or just being along for the ride. If you are also interested in that kind of stuff, then I would recommend you read Sadie.

Our book centers around a girl, Sadie, obviously. Her sister has just been murdered, the investigation was botched, and Sadie is now on the warpath. She knows who killed her sister and she a plan, but first she needs to find him.

This book successfully did what a lot of other books like it could not. I felt a deep connection to the characters and their story, a lot of the time when I read thrillers/mysteries, the characters are all horrible and I have a hard time respecting any of them or feeling basic emotions for their stories. Sadie really had a very grounded feeling.

I personally don’t actually listen to podcasts, they just aren’t my thing. This story is written for people that do enjoy podcasts and even some that don’t. I’m not going start listening to podcasts, don’t get me wrong, but I did enjoy the freshness that the podcast brought. It added in many angles for the reader. It wasn’t just what Sadie had to say, it’s what everything looked like from the outside. It was these people that were affected by the story trying to piece together what exactly happened. It showed the after effects that Sadie never saw. 

The ending is really up for interpretation, but at the same time, I feel like we all know what happened. It really depends on if you’re more of an optimist or a pessimist.

If you're interested in reading this, it's out today! 

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What Makes a Good Thriller/Mystery

Felt like doing something a little different today, so I decided to talk about what I think makes a good Thriller/Mystery novel.

If you are anything like me, you might have a harder time reading thrillers and mysteries than you do reading everything else. I love watching thriller/mystery shows and movies, but when it comes to pen and paper it just can’t seem to hold my focus. 

I almost never read those types of novels specifically because I don’t feel as connected to them as I do other genres. These novels might just be the hardest to write because of how complex they have to be. A good thriller/mystery has to keep you on your toes while still managing to make you care about what is going to happen. I find that in a lot of thrillers I don’t really care about the characters because we don’t really get anything likable about them. Thrillers usually star characters we don’t like or respect and therefore don’t really care what happens to them because of it. The times that I’ve enjoyed thrillers was because I liked or had a general respect for the protagonist or whomever we are rooting for.

A great example would be The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. There is no book character out there as badass as Lizbeth Salander. She is just so well rounded. Lizbeth Salander is one of those characters that always surprises me, I never know what she’ll do and I love that.

Another thing absolutely necessary is a plot that twists and turns. No one likes a mystery that can be guessed halfway through the book. You have to be hit with a plot twist or it just isn’t worth reading, especially considering how long thrillers/mysteries tend to be. No one wants to waste their time on a boring book.

Another aspect that is so so important is the antagonist. The hero is only as good as the villain is bad, we all know this. So if the antagonist of a story isn’t truly driven and complex then there is no point.

What do you think is an important part of a thriller/mystery novel?

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The Becoming of Noah Shaw Spoiler Free Review

The Becoming of Noah Shaw
by Michelle Hodkin

Release Date: November 7th, 2017

Synopsis:

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

My Thoughts:

I received this ARC through Netgalley

I gave this book 5 stars. I really loved how well this book was written, the characters weren't weird and different than they were in the original trilogy and it was well paced.

This book was a ticking time bomb. We know from the synopsis that Noah and Mara are going to have the main conflict in this book. Going into this book I was very nervous as I love Noah and Mara together. They are perfect together. It’s even harder seeing Noah grow to distrust Mara as he loves her so much. They love each other so much and that’s part of the problem, they are willing to do anything to protect each other. 

The fact that our former protagonist of the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is now our antagonist. This is a unique position as this rarely happens. We see this character that we grew to love and fear and we’re seeing this side of her that we don’t really want to see. She is turning into something unrecognizable. 

It was interesting to see everything from Noah’s perspective, he seems like an open book, but he really is good at answering questions with questions, you can’t really know Noah. Noah is actually pretty noble. Pun intended. When we first met him in the first Mara Dyer book he seems like a sleazy playboy, now he can see that he isn’t what we thought he was. He’s a really good person who wants to do the right thing.

Noah and Mara’s banter was the same as it always was, even when they were in tough situations, they were stressed, they still had their easy banter going on. I loved this the ease between them, even though they might not have completely trusted each other, they could still talk to each other.

I hope that in the end Noah and Mara will find their way back to each other because I would love nothing more than to see them work it all out. I know this may not be the case because of the whole “You will love him to ruins” thing, but I still have hope for them.

Also, more of a sidenote, you should 100% read the Mara Dyer trilogy before reading or else it won’t make a lot of sense. There are a lot of references to things that happen in that first trilogy that is detrimental to this story.

The Stephen King Book Tag

I watched the It movie on opening day. Funny story, I went about two hours early with my friend to make sure we got good seats. The theatre ended up not even being full. I mean, it was a four o'clock showtime, but it was opening day so it should have been really busy. I guess it was better that it wasn't. I also have to mention, some lady brought her small children to see this movie. This movie was terrifying and I bet her children will be scarred for life. I just wanted to mention that. It was a wild movie-going experience. 

I should also note that this tag wasn't originally in English, I had to translate it from French and while I speak some French I am not the best at it so some of the questions may be wrong. I just thought you should be aware of that before hand. Disclaimer.

How many Stephen King books do you own?

9

How did you discover this author?

The movie The Shining, I was really into horror movies at the time.

What is the first book you read by him?

The Shining, it's probably Stephen King's most recognized work as it is also an incredibly famous movie, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that this is the first one to catch my eye.

How long have you been a fan?

For about five years now.

What is your favorite book? Who made you most afraid?

(I was going to use a picture of the book cover, but then I came across this badass picture and decided to use it instead. When I clicked on the photo it linked back to the Goodreads page so I don't actually know who made this, but I totally commend them for making such an awesome poster.)

My Favorite book as of now is Doctor Sleep. 

The character who scares me the most is Pennywise the Clown. I’m terrified of clowns.

Which book did you like least?

Cell, it took me quite a while to get through this one, and even when I was reading it, it was more like skim reading because I didn't care.

Do you have any Stephen King books in your TBR pile that you have not read yet?

Four: Finders Keepers, End of Watch, Under the Dome, and It.

What is your favorite new book?

I feel like I may not have translated this question correctly, but I’ll give it a go. I’m assuming this means, what is a newer book that I love, and if I’m not counting Doctor Sleep, then I would have to go with Mr. Mercedes. It was such a good book.

What do you like most in the style of this author?

His books always feel very nostalgic, no matter if they are scary or just about crime, they have this coming of age type feel that I love.

What do you think of adaptations? What is your favorite?

I for the most part really enjoy the adaptations, some could be better, but there are definitely some amazing ones out there like Stand By Me and the Shawshank Redemption that are pretty amazing. My favorite would have to be the original It mini series. The new It movie was a lot better in quality than the mini series, the mini series had a perfect mix of horror and the coming of age feeling that is attributed with a lot of Stephen King's work and I love it.

We all float down here.

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Daughter of Deep Silence Review

Daughter of Deep Silence
by Carrie Ryan

Spoilers

Synopsis:

In the wake of the deadly devastation of luxury yacht Persephone, just three souls remain to tell its story—and two of them are lying. Only Frances Mace, rescued from the ocean after torturous days adrift with her dying friend Libby, knows that the Persephone wasn’t sunk by a rogue wave as survivors Senator Wells and his son are claiming—it was attacked.

To ensure her safety from the obviously dangerous and very powerful Wells family, Libby’s father helps newly orphaned Frances assume Libby’s identity. Frances has spent years in hiding, transforming herself into Libby, and she can no longer allow the people who murdered her entire family and Libby to get away with it. After years of careful plotting, she’s ready to set her revenge plans into motion—even if it means taking down the boy she’d once been in love with: the senator’s son.

The game has just begun, and Frances is not only playing dirty, she’s playing to win.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. This book was an unexpected gem. It was everything that I didn't expect from it. I didn't even mean to start reading it, but I just turned to the first page, you know, just to see what it was like and the next thing I knew I was 100 pages in and there was no stopping me. This story was incredibly addicting and I don't say that lightly, I honestly could not put it down.

This was one of those books that I was just vaguely interested enough in to want to read and when I found it at the bookstore for 6 dollars I thought "Why not?" and bought it. I wasn't even planning on reading it any time soon, I was just going to stick it with my other TBR books and read it when the mood finally struck, little did I know that the mood would strike when I turned to that first page.

The story was more of a narrative, it did have dialogue, but most of the story was what the protagonist told us and it worked for this book. I like it when I get a good sense of the emotions that the character had while she was dealing with the aftermath of this disaster. And her reliving the terror that was that night on the yacht. 

For some reason I just expected Grey to be completely evil, but good looking. He was sort of played out to be the bad guy in the synopsis since he lied about something so important, but when reading the book a villain is the exact opposite of what e got. Grey was sweet and compassionate and cute and loving and was just the perfect guy, albeit, harbouring a lot of damaging secrets. I couldn't help but root for him.

I felt a deep connection to Frances, or Libby I guess, she had been though so much and it was taking over her life, she couldn't seem too get passed any of her traumatic experience. She was dedicated to bringing down the people who ruined her life and ended the lives of her family. 

The ending was epic and really everything I could have wanted. Thom, the man who shot up the boat, died, the Senator got jail time which he most definitely deserved, Frances got peace of mind and hopefully a new life with Grey. I still have a lot of questions, but I feel like the best books always leave us with an abundance of questions at the end. 

There is almost nothing I love more than a good revenge plot. The author completely did the premise justice. All I could think about after finishing this book was "That's it? What happens next? I need more!" I honestly can't believe the story ended like that I need to know what happens after the story ends. It's considered a thriller, but I didn't really see it as one. It had some thrilling parts, but I tend to not really enjoy thrillers all that much, I feel like they lack compassion in their most basic rights and I just don't care about them. This book had lots of emotions that drove the book and I would highly recommend it.

Quotes:

“If anything, revenge is the absence of emotion. It's pure, calculated thought stripped bare of entangling emotions. It's cold, deliberate action.” 

“It's funny, most people think that revenge is a passionate affair, driven by rage and pain. But it can't be. Feelings such as those make you weak. They overwrite thought and cause reckless impulses that lead to poor decisions.” 

“Could I really let her die? I ask myself. The most alarming realization is the sudden and sure answer: yes. I could absolutely let her die.” 

“So, to very unsubtly change the subject, what kind of books do you like to read? And so help me if you say Greek mythology, I'll turn this car around myself." It takes him a minute to get my joke, and then he starts laughing and I join in. And there's something about it all - the expanse of the summer sky arcing overhead and my hand still on Grey's warm thigh - that makes me wonder if I could just pause life here and wrap a bubble around this moment, if it would be enough to keep me happy.” 

“As I pass by him, I feel a crackle of tension between us. A slow heat begins its way into my cheeks, mirroring the flush in Grey's, and I realize that I hadn't been the only one acutely aware of his nakedness in the shower.”