Month: November 2019

ARC Reviews, Children, Middle Grade Fiction

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

The Bookish Librarian

Grades 3 – 6

Pie in the Sky is the name of the bakery Jingwen’s father had planned to open back home before he unexpectedly passed away. Forced to move to Australia with his mom and annoying little brother Yanghao, Jingwen feels lost and alone, because he can’t speak English very well and he has major culture shock. He tries to cheer himself up by imagining all the fancy cakes his father would have baked. His mother forbids Jingwen or his brother from using the oven without supervision, so when they bake cakes when she’s not home, they make up intricate stories to hide it from her. Fans of Timmy Failure and the Middle School series will love this book, whose format is part prose and part graphic format.  

Thanks to School Library Journal for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, ARC Reviews, Romance

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

The Bookish Librarian

Ages 18+

Twice in a Blue Moon

When Tate was a teenager, she took a trip to London with her grandmother. There, she met a boy her age named Sam, and his farmer grandfather. Tate and Sam fall hard and fast for each other, making the most of their short time together. Sam tells Tate he thinks his grandfather is dying but hasn’t told him, and Tate admits she’s the daughter of a famous film star living under wraps. She is sure she can trust Sam with her secret, until he reveals her story to the press. Heartbroken and betrayed, Tate swears she is done with Sam forever. That is, until he appears in her life more than a decade later and she has to decide whether to give him another chance.

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, ARC Reviews, Horror/Thriller

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Bookish Librarian

Ages 18+

The Turn of the Key

Rowan Caine comes upon an ad for a live-in nanny with a salary almost too good to be true. She takes the position and is thrilled, but she is faced with something she never fathomed. Her time at Heatherbrae House is told through letters Rowan writes from her prison cell to an attorney she wants to hire, trying to convince him that she’s innocent and has nothing to do with the murder of the child she once took care of. Ruth Ware delivers another thriller with twists and turns no one will see coming.

Thanks to Netgalley.com for a review copy of this book.

ARC Reviews, Tear Jerkers, YA Fiction

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

The Bookish Librarian

Grades 9 – 12

Call It What You Want

Rob and Meagan both have secrets. Rob’s dad is caught money laundering and decides that suicide is the answer. He tries, and fails, to  kill himself, leaving Rob and his mother to care for him for the rest of his life. Meagan’s sister Samantha comes home from her freshman year at college pregnant. Not only that, but Sam begs Meagan to keep the pregnancy a secret from their parents. When Rob and Meagan are paired together for a project, they become close, but they feel that their secrets are too much for their new friendship to handle. Kemmerer fans will love this heartfelt novel.

Thanks to Netgalley.com for a review copy of this book.