Torched by Andrea Colt

Title: Torched
Author: Andrea Colt
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 8th 2012

Summary from Goodreads:

Sparks fly in this romantic young-adult mystery.

Cheerleader Rose Whitfield's senior year goes up in smoke when she's framed for arson. Sure that the culprit is her neighbor Paxton, with whom she's been feuding since middle school, she sets out to clear her name and take Paxton down hard--not necessarily in that order.

Review

I really really enjoyed Torched. The romance, mystery, and dynamic range of characters made this book a fast and fun read.  So here are 5 reasons to pick this book up!

1. The Mystery - Rose is wrongfully accused and it sends her social and love life down the drain.  She has to solve the mystery to clear her name and save her senior year.  I loved the criminal mystery aspects of the story, it took unexpected turns and was unpredictable!

2. Witty Banter - Rose is a master at sarcasm and funny comments.  Her pranks and conversations with Paxton are fantastic.

3. Character Development - Not all the characters are likable characters but they do learn from some of their mistakes and grow through the course of the book.  I appreciate the non-perfect characters, it brought honesty to the story and make the characters more relate-able/believable.

4. Romance - The romance is spot on.  Even though the romance is a bit predictable, I thought it was super cute and slow building with loads of tension!

5. Fun - Torched is fun and quick read.  I was smiling throughout the whole book wanting to know who framed Rose and how her love life was going to pan out.  I highly recommend Torched, this book does fly under the radar but it is well worth the read!

Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

Title: Hotel Ruby
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: November 3rd 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Stay Tonight. Stay Forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn't have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she's met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…

Welcome to the Ruby.

Review

Hotel Ruby is a fast paced mystery that kept me intrigued through the very last page.  After facing a tragic loss, the elegant and extravagant parties, setting and guests at the Hotel Ruby captivated both Audrey and myself.

The enchanting characters and wild events have such an odd vibe to them, it was easy to tell something was not right but I could not place what exactly was off about the characters.  I wanted to know more and understand what the book had in store, I read Hotel Ruby in one sitting.  At times it reminded me of The Shining, if The Shining met The Great Gatsby.  It was such a different and unique blend of glitz and creepiness that made for a complex, well done story.

Hotel Ruby is unlike most books I have read before, it gives off an almost movie-like vibe to it.  As the mystery unfolded, I guessed some aspects but overall I was surprised until the very end. Even though the characters are develop and parts of the story focus on relationships, Hotel Ruby is ultimately a plot driven book.  There are hints of romance, sadness, loss and an overall good vs. evil vibe throughout combining a wide array of emotions.   I recommend it if you are in the mood for something different and  a bit darker and heavier.

REVIEW: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: The Naturals

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Pages: 304, Hardcover
Source: Audiobook, Library

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

---

• This is totally teen Criminal Minds with a paranormal twist. And I LOVE Criminal Minds. I can't get enough crime-story-type books and I especially enjoy the darker ones that dig into the mind of serial killers. As appalling as some of these stories are (and how paranoid I've become since watching/reading them) I find them fascinating. 


• I loved the gifts that the Naturals possessed - I always enjoy stories involving abilities. I think it was interesting to see how the Naturals used their gifts to solve cases and I particularly enjoyed how their gifts shaped their interactions with each other. Imagine not being able to lie or hide your emotions - yikes! 


• I loved the cat and mouse game going on. This is another book that provides the killers POV throughout the story and you all know I love getting the bad guys POV. 


• The mystery. I didn't exactly see that ending coming. Really, this book was so fast-paced that I didn't have time to predict anything. I liked how the case was solved but some parts of the story are still left open for later. I imagine there will be more books. 

---

• I believe in coincidences but this book relied on them and when things are too improbable it bugs me. That's all I can say without giving anything away. 


• The love triangle. Cassie was all over the place. It felt like all it took was for a boy to look at her for her to develop feelings for him. I wasn't convinced why she liked either boy. The whole romance aspect just felt like a plot extra. 


• I wish the Naturals had the chance to actually solve cases as a team. This was mostly about Cassie learning the ropes, stumbling upon a case, and figuring it out in time for the big ending ( with the aid of her two gentlemen). We didn't really get to see the unit work together. 

---

This book was a ton of fun. Despite the romance and the unlikelihood of things, I really enjoyed it. It was a compelling crime story, with a nice touch of paranormal and drama. 

Maid of Secrets (Maids of Honor #1) by Jennifer McGowan

Title: Maid of Secrets

Series: Maids of Honor #1
Author: Jennifer McGowan

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Pages: 416, Hardcover
Source: ARC obtained from trading

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Meg Fellowes is a wry, resourceful thief forced to join an elite group of female spies in Queen Elizabeth’s Court. There she must solve a murder, save the Crown, and resist the one thing that will become her greatest freedom–and her deadliest peril.

For Meg and her fellow spies are not alone in their pursuit of the murderer who stalks Windsor Castle.

A young, mysterious Spanish courtier, Count Rafe de Martine, appears at every turn in the dark and scandal-filled corridors of the Queen’s summer palace. And though secrets and danger are Meg’s stock-in-trade, she’s never bargained on falling in love…

Review

I really enjoyed Maid of Secrets. But rather than me tell you, in so many words, that the plot was engaging and the characters were likably unalike, I thought I’d take a different approach. Using my powers of table-making, I laid out what Maid of Secrets IS (nifty adjectives that I’d use to describe this book), and what Maid of Secrets HAS (plot elements that might appeal to you). The result….

 

Now if a line item appeals to you, indicate as such with a (mental) check mark. There is a total possible score of 20 (i.e. you like everything in the table). And here is how you may interpret your score.

I myself am on a big spy kick and I always love books that take place in the past, especially those with an opulent setting. Really this book was perfect for me and I’d easily recommend this to others.  

Final note: I can draw a parallel between Grave Mercy and Maid of Secrets, and I’d suggest if you liked one that you read the other.

REVIEW #102: Crash (Visions, #1) by Lisa McMann

Title: Crash
Series: Visions #1
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 8th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 233 pages
Source: Audiobook from the Library

Summary from Goodreads:
If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

Jules is a bit of an outcast at school; she comes from a large Italian family that runs their own restaurant and has a huge crush on Sawyer. Sawyer happens to be a member of the rival Italian family that Jules is supposed to hate. Every where she goes, Jules is having visions; she sees a truck driving straight towards a building resulting in a set of body bags. Jules has to piece together the visions she has to try and stop the crash.

The summary for Crash grabbed my attention right away and when I saw that my library had the audio book for it, I jumped on the chance. A girl who has visions of the future and has to save her one true love; sounded great. It was not bad. The story flies by; it was cute but to the point where it got corny. I felt like I was rolling my eyes every couple of chapters. The love story was corny and not genuine. As for characters, the feuding families were funny; they reminded me a bit of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Jules was an impulse, kind of crazy nerdy girl and Sawyer was a popular kid who just wouldn’t take Jules seriously.

The story line was predictable and I felt like there are a lot of details missing. My one major issue with the story was the visions. There was no explanation about why Jules was getting them. The whole concept needed more development. The audio book narration further enhanced the corny/cute mood of the story.

Crash was a fast read with some funny one-liners. It was a 2.5 star read due to the underdeveloped plot, forced romance, and overall corny-ness.

BLOG TOUR {Review #66 & Giveaway}: Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Title: Strangelets
Author: Michelle Gagnon
Publisher: Soho Teen
Release Date: April 9th 2013
Source: EBook from the Publisher for an honest Review

Summary from Goodreads:
17-year-old Sophie lies on her deathbed in California, awaiting the inevitable loss of her battle with cancer…
17-year-old Declan stares down two armed thugs in a back alley in Galway, Ireland…
17-year-old Anat attempts to traverse a booby-trapped tunnel between Israel and Egypt…

All three strangers should have died at the exact same moment, thousands of miles apart. Instead, they awaken together in an abandoned hospital—only to discover that they’re not alone. Three other teens from different places on the globe are trapped with them. Somebody or something seems to be pulling the strings. With their individual clocks ticking, they must band together if they’re to have any hope of surviving.

Soon they discover that they've been trapped in a future that isn't of their making: a deadly, desolate world at once entirely familiar and utterly strange. Each teen harbors a secret, but only one holds the key that could get them home. As the truth comes to light through the eyes of Sophie, Declan, and Anat, the reader is taken on a dark and unforgettable journey into the hearts of teens who must decide what to do with a second chance at life.

"There's a process called spaghettification, where the gravity at your feet is much greater than at your head.  So theoretically, if you were drawn into a mini black hole, you'd be stretched as if on a rack, until you finally splintered into atoms."

This book is quite tricky to summarize without giving away too much of the story line. But the rough summary, SPOILER FREE: A group of teenagers, all near death wake up in a deserted hospital with no idea of why they are there, how they got there, and where there actually is. When the group manages to leave the hospital they are faced with a new world, a world that seems desolated; they can’t seem to find other people but they are able to run into unknown creatures who want to eat them. Sofia, Yosh, Declan, Niko, and Anat must figure out how to survive this new environment and how to get back to a world they know.

I had two big issues with the book. The first was that the beginning was slow and confusing with no indication of where the story was going to go. The second was the narration, the narration switches from character to character but without any clear indication, forcing me to reread paragraphs sometimes because they change was so subtle. My final small “issue” was the science involved in the story was super science-fictiony. Some of the science presented seemed to be a bit far reaching and sometimes corny/goofy.

‘Strangelets are a kind of matter containing an almost equal number of particles: up, down, and strange quarks. Although it’s a good term for you, now’ he added with a small laugh shaking his head. ‘A bunch of strangelets.’

There was plot twist I was not expecting AT ALL. I found the plot twists refreshing and thought they helped keep the mystery up. The beginning was slow but once the characters started understanding a bit about the world they landed in, the adventure and intrigue increased.  I enjoyed the individuality of each character and how they paired off with each other. Declan had to be my favorite character, he was full of witty and sarcastic comments that kept me smiling.  While there is an underlying love story, it is well done and cute :) The ending provided a nice conclusion with all the loose ends either acknowledged or resolved. There is a nice blend of happy and sad that make the story more realistic.

Overall, I was torn how many stars to give this book because it was such roller coaster of a read. After a slow and confusing beginning the story picks up and is full if mystery, sci-fi and adventure. The plot kept me guessing the whole time, Strangelets was far from predictable!

About the Author:
Michelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and
Russian supper club performer. Her bestselling adult thrillers THE TUNNELS, BONEYARD, THE GATEKEEPER, and KIDNAP & RANSOM have been published in North America, France, Denmark, Spain, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Australia. BONEYARD was a finalist for a 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.

http://www.michellegagnon.com/  | twitter.com/Michelle_Gagnon

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow

Author: Robin Wasserman
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: April 10, 2012
Pages: 432, Hardcover

Summary from Goodreads:

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.  When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love.  When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead.  His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

I am going to try and keep this review short and sweet. Primarily because I don't want to put my foot in my mouth. The audiobook is NOT the way to go - definitely read this book if you are interested. There are too many details to pick up through listening and I know I missed some and that ultimately hurt my reading experience. I still enjoyed the book, but who knows how different my rating/experience would have been might I have read it instead.

What I liked -
1. Elizabeth Westin's Letters. A central element to this story are the letters written by Elizabeth Westin to her brother in 16th century Prague. Nora has been asked to translate these from Latin and they ultimately lead her in her search for the Lumen Dei. I really enjoyed Elizabeth's voice throughout the story. When author's incorporate pieces of the past I latch on to them and Elizabeth was no exception. I also thought it was nice that the clues were revealed through letters rather than a National Treasure/Da Vinci Code kind of search.

2. The integration of Latin. This was probably one of the few benefits of listening to the audiobook. I'm sure if I was reading this book and saw Latin on the pages, I would either completely butcher the words while reading them in my head, or completely skip over the passage entirely to get back to the English (because surprise readers! I can't speak Latin). Well... the narrator of the audiobook read the Latin and who am I to know any better than to assume it is authentic. Regardless, it felt authentic and really brought Elizabeth and her letter's to life for me. I really appreciate when author's enhance their story with elements such as this.

2. Nora Kane. Nora was a great lead character. She was practical and level-headed, smart and (relatively) perceptive. I liked her and thought she made this book work. Nothing would have bothered me more if the lead character was easily susceptible to influence and selfish which has been done FAR TOO OFTEN.

3. Eli and Nora play-acting to get access to a library. Seriously this may be my favorite part - it was hilarious. Nora and Eli stage a fight as a married couple to overwhelm a monk into letting them into a library to see old Kepler texts.

"'Maybe if there is someone we can talk to about this,' Eli said. 'Your boss, perhaps?'"

"I snickered. 'God's probably busy, sweetie.'"

"'You are alarmingly good at acting the bitch.' Eli whispered. 'It suggests practice.'" 

"'And you are alarmingly good at acting whipped.' I shot back. 'Food for thought.'"

4. The Ending. Seriously like the last I don't know... 15-20% of this book was one shocking moment after another. Some plot twists were predictable, others were less so, but it is definitely an action packed finale. And everything wrapped up nicely - loose ends, casual mentions, questions - you name it.

What I didn't like - 
1. The pace. The pace was all over the place for me BUT this could have been a result of listening to the audiobook.  I was really into the first quarter of the book when the story was building up, but then lost a little bit of interest until just before the story shifted over to Prague. From then on it was a bit up and down for me until the ending (which was all up).

2. The setting (or lack thereof). HEAR ME OUT. I just mean that more focus was put on other elements of the story than the setting. When I think of a great setting, Libba Bray comes to mind because she is the master of transporting you to another time and place. But in The Book of Blood and Shadow I didn't really feel like I was in Prague and I would have liked to to see more description to make me really feel it.

Is this book for you?
If you like historical fiction, a good adventure-mystery that involves deciphering clues, AND (most-importantly) and author that doesn't sacrifice detail for pace or length, then you will probably enjoy this book. 

So much for keeping this review short. 

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Title: The Dead and Buried

Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Pages: 304, Hardcover
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

I thought this book was fun. Jade’s new home is being haunted by the ghost of Kayla Sloane, the old Queen B of her high school. If Kayla was ruthless when she was alive, it’s nothing compared to what she’s willing to do now to get the truth. Kayla wants answers and she’s using Jade to get them. But Jade soon discovers that a lot of people had cause to want Kayla Sloane dead.

Did Kayla’s best guy friend finally get tired of being in the friend-zone after pining for her always? Did the loner smart girl take out her only competition for valedictorian because Kayla didn't deserve it? Did one of Kayla's closes minions want the spotlight? Or what about the countless others that Kalya bullied, manipulated, took advantage of, overshadowed, etc? Even though I had a feeling about the killer early on, I didn’t understand the motive and that kept me interested in the story. I kept second guessing myself because so many people fit the bill. I enjoyed trying to puzzle out the mystery.

To get answers, Jade inserts herself into the life that Kayla used to lead, but she doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe. She befriended the quirky smart girl and doesn’t think she’s capable of murder but her unusual show of emotion concerns Jade. She also finds herself drawn to Donovan, who, ironically, is the person that the rest of the school thinks killed Kayla. He was the last one to see her alive and a witness saw him leave her house right around the time of the murder. Jade also thinks he might be hiding something from her. But Jade follows her heart and employs the powers of sleuthing to eventaully solve the murder. I thought the clues were well laid out and everything came together nicely at the end. It wasn't the best mystery I ever read but I thought it was pretty decently executed.

Even though this book involved ghosts, it wasn’t that creepy. I was more creeped out by the old neighbor who seems to always be watching than Kayla's ghost. And I thought Kayla was an awesome antagonist. I actually wish we saw more of her as Queen B but we have to settle for pages from her diary to get glimpses of her ruthless, cunning behavior. Something about mean girls I find so entertaining. I also liked Jade as the main character. She was level-headed and smart, and even though she wasn’t as exciting as Kayla, she had enough personality to capture my attention.

Overall, I liked this book; there just wasn’t anything particularly amazing about it to warrant a higher rating. It was a good story with a puzzling mystery, one fantastically bitchy ghost (that we didn't see enough of), a bit of romance, and some good ol' high school drama.

Altered (Altered, #1) by Jennifer Rush

Title: Altered, (Altered, #1)
Author: Jennifer Rush
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January, 1, 2013
Pages: 336, Hardcover
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

To me, Altered was Jason Bourne meets Captain America times four. Sam, Nick, Trev and Cas have been genetically altered by a government funded organization called The Branch to enhance various traits – speed, strength, intellect, etc. – in an attempt to create perfect soldiers. Their memories have been wiped so they cannot recall their lives before the lab and they are tested daily in preparation for some vague future purpose. But early into the book they escape the lab and go on the run, following clues that Sam’s pre-memory-swipe self left behind, which they hope will uncover some truth.

Altered follows the POV of Anna who is the daughter of Arthur, the man in charge of overseeing the boy’s testing and progress. Anna has been home-schooled and knows nothing other than the farm she lives on and the lab imprisoning four boys in her basement (which apparently she just accepts). As her only real companions, she grows close to them. Trev is good-natured, protective, and open. He is the closest thing to a best friend that Anna has. Cas is good-humored, playful and laid-back. He’s usually the one to lighten the mood when things get tense. And Sam is the one that captured Anna’s heart. He’s reserved, calculating and mysterious but Anna is drawn to him by some force beyond her control. Nick and Anna don't get along. When the boys escape with the aid of Anna’s father, his only request is that they take her and protect her. They oblige and Anna ends up on the run with them, but soon discovers that she’s just as mixed up in the Branch as the boys are, and she’s forced to question everything she thought she knew.

Altered is an action-driven novel. Make no mistake, there is a romance element with some angst but it shouldn’t deter you. The plot carries the group from one puzzle piece to the next, with Branch agents hot on their trail creating ample opportunity for fight scenes, discovery, world-building, etc. There is a steady flow of information, plot twists, and attention-grabbing moments, to keep you turning the pages wanting to know more.

The ending is also worth mentioning. Although in the slightest sense it felt compacted (glazing over details) I was happy with the dose of information we were ultimately given. In a lot of YA series, the first book is disappointedly void of (what I consider) big discoveries but Altered did not follow that trend. I was very satisfied with what we were given in this novel and what questions were left unanswered for the next.

One more thing – this book follows the trend of strong female characters. Anna is no weak damsel in distress. She may not be on par with the boys but she can carry her own weight and does.

Overall, Altered was a fun, action-packed read that delivers. A definite stand out in this genre and an exciting read.

The Archived (The Archived, #1) by Victoria Schwab

Title: The Archived (The Archived, #1)
Author: Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 336, Hardcover
Rating: 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. 

In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

There were so many great things about this book. For starters, the idea was refreshingly original and the setting was everything from eerie, disturbing and dark to magnificent, imaginative, and dreamy. It was spellbinding and worked perfectly together to bring the story to life.  The Archive is a library-esque room that stores the Histories (copies of the deceased). I was picturing something you'd expect to see in a Harry Potter movie. A too-large-to-grasp room, dimly lit, Gothic in style, with volumes and volumes of, in this case, dead bodies stacking the shelves (don't worry they are in drawers). The narrow, winding rows between stacks can only be navigated by the Librarians for it seems that the space is constantly changing. The Narrows is the space in between the Archive and the Outer. The Narrows is like a dark, narrow, stone alleyway, endless in height. The walls are filled with doors, some that lead to the Outer, some that lead to the Archive, some that lead to nowhere. Lastly, the Outer for Mackenzie is the Coronado, an old hotel turned compartment building that her family just moved into. I pictured a once regal space that is now weathered, vacant, and gloomy. The few other tenants we meet are more or less sufficiently creepy fitting my image. This whole setting vaguely reminded me of the Matrix meets the Shining!

Sometimes the Histories wake and wind up in the Narrows, sometimes they escape the Narrows and wind up in the Outer. Confusion and denial causes these Histories to "slip", making their behavior erratic, difficult to manage and even dangerous. It is Mac's job to enter the Narrows and return the Histories that have waken to the Archives. But just as soon as Mac moves into the Coronado, she stumbles across information relating to a murder, and as she digs deeper, all evidence points to someone in the Archives. Suddenly, there are disturbances in the Archives, more and more Histories are escaping into the Narrows, and Mac finds herself fighting for her life. Can she make sense of this mystery, figure out who is responsible and stop them before her entire world comes crumbling down? READ AND FIND OUT :)

I didn't love Mac as a character but I did like her and I felt for her. She was a young girl weighed down by her duty, suffering from the loss of loved ones, and struggling to keep ahead of all the lies she was forced to tell to hide this second life. She was flawed, she made mistakes (some more disturbing than others), but she was real. Her job required that she be strong, competent and not easily shaken. She was all of these things. I did, however, love Wes, aka "Guyliner". He was spunky and fun and his few witty quips made me laugh. He added a bit of flavor and life to this dreary, serious world. I also really liked Rolan, who was sort of a mentor/big brother to Mac. With all Mac had to deal with, she needed someone to lean on, and Rolan gave her that. Their relationship was both comforting and endearing.

I read this book in a day and had no hesitation rating it 5 stars. It is a new favorite of mine and absolutely wonderful. The story is suspenseful and well-paced, never a dull moment. Although I had my suspicions, I was left guessing until the end.

5/5 stars, Highly recommend!!