Join by Steve Toutonghi

Join by Steve Toutonghi

My Rating: ★★★★

As humanity faces devastating storms threaten their future on Earth, new technology emerges that allows multiple consciousness into a single mind across each of their bodies. This technology, Join, gives humanity a chance at immortality because their mind will outlive their bodies as long as it's joined with at least one living person. The joined slowly ignore the environmental threats to their habitat in favor of what emerging technology can bring while those who choose to remain solo are more concerned about fixing Earth. When the shroud is ripped from the eyes of two close friends, Chance and Leap, they soon discover that Join and the companies behind it are not what they've been led to believe.

I was a little confused at first because each person who is joined has one name, so it threw me off that Chance was Chance One, Chance Two, and so on. I was able to fully get into the story once I got used to how the clusters worked. After that, I enjoyed this complex story that covered the science and human aspects of the world it takes place in. At some point, I was reading it like Join was a totally normal and real scientific discovery. The science behind it in this world is fascinating. Picture something like Sense8, if you've seen it, but taken to another level where each person in the cluster are all one person once they've joined. Add how anyone can complete the procedure as long as they pass all the medical and psychological checkpoints and afford it, and you've got Join.

Underneath the science of this world, it's a story about mortality, technology, and environmentalism. Many people wish that they could live forever, and technology solves that in this story. People are dazzled by new technology and begin to overlook how it can help us save the environment. It's a great dystopian novel that amplifies the things that concern many on a daily basis and turns it into a scenario covering what could go wrong.

Above all, it has complex and rich characters that had a hold on me. I loved learning about each of the characters and why or why not they chose to use Join. The way these people interacted with each other and brought their valid concerns to light is extremely captivating. The mystery plot that surfaces is just one of the many elements that goes on to answer questions one may or may not have. I'm excited to see what Toutonghi's future work has in store for us.

Silence of the Flans (Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery #2) by Laura Bradford

Silence of the Flans by Laura Bradford

My Rating: ★★★

Winnie's new business is just starting to pick up when her latest recipient turns up dead with a Emergency Dessert Squad blackberry crisp in her mouth. Her customers dry up as she finds herself the talk of the town and a murder suspect. With plenty of time suddenly on her hands, Winnie decides to investigate the murder and clear her name once and for all.

The second installment of the series is just as charming as the first. All of the old folks that Winnie hangs out with on a regular basis are such sweet and fun characters. Mr. Nelson and Bridget remind me of people I know, so it's so much fun to watch these characters appear throughout the story. Then there's Renee, who is a wonderful and supportive friend. I love these characters and the dynamic between them. However, I've found that Winnie is not my favorite person even though she's the protagonist. She's often too naive to be believable, which takes me out of the story from time to time. Otherwise, I love watching these characters interact and grow as people.

Unlike the first novel, this installment is primarily focused on the murder mystery because Winnie is in the spotlight because her tasty crisp is allegedly the murder weapon. She begins the investigation with a partner and quickly begins investigating on her own only to discover the real killer when they're face to face. I wish that she had a partner during her investigation for much longer than she did because Winnie is more interesting and believable when she's closely linked with one or more secondary characters. I love the story; I just wish that she did less solo investigating.

I love Winnie's struggles with Lovey, the cat who seems to love everyone but her new owner. I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship continue and if Lovey will ever be somewhat loving toward Winnie in the future. I'm a cat person, so I love seeing Lovey's interactions with the characters as well as Winnie's struggles with her. Plus, Lovey seems to be the main ice breaker between Winnie and Jay's daughter. I'm looking forward to the next installment as well as more tasty sounding recipes!

Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

My Rating: ★★★★

Sasha's working up the courage to tell her best friend, Xavier, that she wants to change their BFF status to BF/GF because she's fallen in love with him. The problem? He just spotted the ex that did him dirty and now they're getting back together. When Sasha turns an drunk, angry, and hurt idea into a full fledged plan to prove that Xavier's ex is no good, she thinks it's the key to ripping him out of his evil ex's clutches. As she gets deeper and deeper into texting as her male alter ego, things spin out of control and she finds herself transforming into a person she doesn't recognize anymore.

Told in multiple perspectives, this wild book had me glued to the pages from the start. It starts out predictable with teenage cliches, but the wonderful writing sucked me in from the start. Imagine my surprise when it went from predictable to one wild ride that had me wishing I had some popcorn to munch on while watching the story unfold. Plus, there are aspects of these characters that are relatable, which makes them even more real than when they remind us of someone we know or knew at one time.

Each of the characters begin as people that we've met throughout our lives, but instead of growing as people, we watch their flaws grow and flourish as the story continues. Without spoiling the book, it's a story about obsession and manipulation that's both predictable and surprising. It's a wonderful mix of both, which keeps you on your toes as things go from 0 to 100. It reminds me of those cautionary tales that exaggerates what could happen if someone toes the line enough that they eventually fall straight over it.

Éclair and Present Danger (Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery #1) by Laura Bradford

Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford

My Rating: ★★★★

When her rent skyrockets, Winnie is forced to close her bakery because she cannot make ends meet enough to pay her latest rent increase. However, fate has other ideas for her when her late friend and neighbor leaves her a cat that hates her and a restored vintage ambulance. Then she finds one of her beloved friends and neighbors murdered, which shocks the entire neighborhood and leaves her in the middle of a murder mystery. While trying to comfort a neighbor, Winnie is struck with a great idea and decides to turn her vintage ambulance into a new baking business on wheels. Have an emergency? Don't worry. The Emergency Dessert Squad is here to deliver baked goods and catch the murderer!

If you're looking for a baking cozy series, boy do I have a good recommendation for you! I'm always down for a cozy mystery, and the description of the tasty delights that Winnie comes up with is sure to leave anyone hungry. I've been saying that there needs to be a chocolate delivery service for years. If only Winnie could pop on by and drop off an emergency brownie at my place! Plus, I've seen a vintage ambulance among a hearse club and it was really cool. I can really see one driving around and rescuing the day with baked goods.

Other than the elements that initially drew me to the series, I was excited to discover that I love the cast of characters. Winnie and her best friend, Renee, are such sweethearts. Plus, all of Winnie's friends and neighbors are such sweet, funny, and goofy people that I'd love to hang out with them. These characters are wonderfully written as well as relatable in different ways. My only complaint is that some of Winnie's interactions with her main love interest seems very immature. That said, nearly all of the characters we meet are fully developed and very real. I can't wait to see how they continue to grow as the series continues.

The murder mystery is a bit of a side plot at times, which I think works well with the story. It develops organically, which is something I like about this book. Winnie slowly investigates as she's getting her new business off the ground and she hasn't turned amateur sleuthing into a primary hobby at this point. Plus, I didn't figure out who the killer was until a little bit before the big reveal. Once I figured it out, thinking back to the beginning, the hints were being dropped from the start. It was fun putting together two and two alongside the characters for a good portion of the book.

Like many baking cozies, recipes for two of the tasty Emergency Dessert Squad treats are included at the end. If I still baked, I would be all over these because I found myself wishing Winnie could pop out of the book and deliver some goodies.

Roar (Stormheart, #1) by Cora Carmack

Roar by Cora Carmack

My Rating: ★★★★

Aurora was born into one of the oldest and most powerful magical families in Stormheart. She’s spent her life being groomed to become the future queen, but there’s a catch: Aurora was born without magic. Forced to enter an arranged marriage with a powerful and harsh man, she must pretend that she has an affinity or lose her kindom. Then she learns that families like hers aren't the only ones with magic, which turns everything she's ever known upside down. What do you do when you discover everything you've been taught is a lie?

I was a little apprehensive about reading this for a book club because Aurora sounded like the typical white and blonde special snowflake that's often seen in young adult books like this. After a couple chapters, any preconceptions that I had blew straight out the window. Now, Aurora is described as beautiful, white, blonde, compassionate etc. and does fall into the special snowflake category. However, the story itself is wonderful. The world building never stops. I could truly see the world she lives in as she's learning about it herself because she was so sheltered that her understanding was actually a bunch of lies wrapped up with a pretty little bow on top. I even grew to like Aurora after a while because she became more complex as the story went on. By the end of the book, I found myself rooting for her. I want her to come out on top of everything that's stacked against her.

I found myself loving majority of the characters, some of which we didn't see much of because they are not closely involved with the central plot. I hope that we see more of these characters in the next book. Then we have Aurora's former friend, Nova, who has been hiding a secret of her own. She's a great character and I loved reading from her perspective and seeing Aurora's kingdom from her view. I hope to see her character further developed as the series continues. I'm also fascinated by the storm hunters and look forward to learning more about them and their lives as well as the rest of the world that all of these characters live in.

The two characters I didn't care for are the two love interests, Cassius and Locke. Cassius is Aurora's betrothed. He's a possessive and cruel character who sees Aurora as an object that he can own and conquer. I didn't like him from the moment he appeared. It's hinted that he's this way because of his family and that he may have had an abusive upbringing, but I can't bring myself to care about him. Then there's Locke, who is interested in Aurora because she reminds him of his late sister. That's totally not weird, right? Right. He reluctantly brings Aurora on as a storm hunter in training. He's constantly battling himself with keeping her safe because he was unable to do that for his sister, and fighting with his romantic feelings. I don't hate him, I just don't care for him because he's very obsessive about Aurora. It's hard to get a feel for him as a character outside of his weird combination of familial and romantic feelings for her.

All in all, I love the overall story. It's rich, complex, and keeps on giving. It's not just the characters, but it's the lands, storms, and different branches of magic that are each given so much depth. I think that this series opener covers all the bases so that the story can hit the ground running in the next installment because. I'm looking forward to where this story goes next.

Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars #1) by Audrey Coulthurst

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

My Rating: ★★★★★

Princess Dennaleia, also known as Denna, had been betrothed to the prince of Mynaria since she was a child. The problem? His kingdom are against magic and she possesses multiple Affinities, including fire, water, and wind. Not only that, but she is also slowly falling in love with her future sister-in-law, Amaranthine, also known as Mare. The more their friendship blossoms, the more she is romantically drawn to Mare. Denna doesn't know what to do with herself as the stakes continue to raise when magic users appear to be attacking the kingdom. It's a risk for her to enter the marriage, but duty calls as she's torn with making the alliance work and coupling herself with Mare while trying to protect her people.

I absolutely love this book. It has excellent world building, which made it more fun to imagine the world that Denna and Mare live in. The characters that we get to know are well developed and allow us to see the different sides to them. All of the characters have their personal and professional lives, which are entwined into one in the case of the royal characters throughout the story. It also allows us to see what it's like outside of the kingdom. While we see what it's like outside of the castle through Mare's eyes, she's in disguise, we get to see how it works and who is getting hurt in the crossfire as a war starts to rise.

It's wonderful when characters remain who they are as they fall in love and a romance ensues. Denna and Mare are two very different people, but it was lovely to watch their friendship develop as well as watching it bud into something more. I found myself rooting for them and wishing that they had a easier choice ahead of them since Denna is involved in a politically arranged marriage that's soon to come to fruition. Their friendship and romance felt very natural. Sometimes the two characters involved in a romantic pairing seem forced, and this was not the case. I also enjoyed reading from each of their perspectives and seeing the different characters throughout the story through their eyes as well as how they saw these people differently.

All in all, it's a wonderful read. I will definitely be back for another installment when it arrives. I look forward to seeing where these characters go as well as where the story takes us when it returns. I had a lot of fun reading it and found myself not wanting to tear myself away. It's one of my favorite reads of the year.

Daddy Darkest (Doctors of Darkness #1) by Ellery A. Kane

Daddy Darkest by Ellery A. Kane

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Best friends Samantha and Ginny take a trip to San Francisco. It was supposed to be their pre-college trip of a life time, but things go awry shortly after landing: Ginny is abducted from the airport bathroom. Armed with her luggage and Ginny's cell phone, Sam is on the run for her life after realizing that she was the target, not Ginny. Told through rotating narrators, we learn about Sam's mom, Clare, and why her secret past just caught up with Sam.

I love when authors have rotating narrators, so it was exciting to see that the book is written from Ginny's perspective in the present as well as Clare's perspective in the past. The closer we get to the end of the book, the closer the events in both perspectives collide. Clare has no idea about her mom's true past. She just knows her as her strong doting and protective mom who also hates psychology. However, Clare's past reveals that she was once a green psychiatrist working at a prison. She's a survivor of abuse who feels broken and blames herself for what happened to her and for the way men respond to her. What Ginny knows of her mother clashes with the life that Clare shed when she fled and started a new life.

Ginny and Clare are very different characters, so it's interesting to jump back and forth between the two and see what's going on in their minds. Clare's young, getting ready to enter college, and is terrified while running for her life and trying to save her best friend at the same time. She went from living the small town life that she's always known to being thrown into this whole new world where she has to trust a guy she just met, try to save Ginny before she gets killed, and face the fact that her father is far from who she thought he was. Meanwhile, we jump into the past every couple of chapters and read about Clare's life, the long term havoc that her attacker has left her with, and how she fell for the charming murderous man, Cutthroat Cullen. It's also interesting that Cullen is so charming because it echoes reality. We're taught to get away from the people who look like "weirdos" when the suave guys are often the ones who we should be weary of.

It was an interesting mystery to get sucked into because the true mystery is not what it appears to be at the beginning of the book. I thought I had everything figured out when one final mystery, one that has been fueling Levi for years, is the one that pulled the wool over my eyes. It is a difficult read because of the nature of Clare's chapters, which are very dark as well as sad, but Kane put together a story worth reading. I will definitely be back for the second installment in the series.