Blackout has a very unique style with contributions from six different authors that each write a romantic fictional short story that all take place during a blackout in New York City. This blackout sparks romantic conflict and tension, and it changes many relationships for the better or worse.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson is about a girl named Pippa who decides to reopen a closed local murder case for her senior capstone project and tries to find the “real” killer. She quickly becomes engulfed in her investigation and is met with lots of people that don’t want her digging up the past.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is about a girl, Avery Grambs, who inherits the majority of one of the richest men in Texas’s assets, Tobias Hawthrone. The catch: she has no idea who Mr. Hawthorne was, and this sparks her journey to find out how she is connected to him. One requirement for Avery in his will is to live with his existing family which includes his four teenage grandsons, and this turns her life upside down.
Animal Crossing: Deserted Island Diary is a graphic novel story that follows four goofy characters, Coroyuki, Benben, Himepoyo, and Guchan, as they try to create the island of their dreams. I absolutely loved this book, and it is great for fans of the Animal Crossing game. Plus, there are bonus pages for game information and a look at the author’s island. This book truly deserves five stars.
Six of Crows is the first book in a duology written by Leigh Bardugo. It is set in the same universe as a previous series by Bardugo, the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Six of Crows follows Kaz Brekker, a notorious thief and his crew, known as the Crows. Kaz is tasked with completing an impossible heist in order to rescue a scientist from the impenetrable Ice Court.
Giving a very grumpy/sunshine type of trope, the story follows Hazel Bradford and Josh Im, who have known each other since they were in college. Hazel’s outgoing, fun, loud, and an elementary school teacher if that sums it up. Josh is a do it by the book, go through life sort of unnoticed, minding his own business type of guy. Their paths cross years after college and it simply follows their relationship/friendship. I’m a sucker for quick, romance, cute reads and this was exactly that, which I was happy with.
This book follows the story of teenager Craig Gilner. He wants to succeed but nearly kills himself over it. The book follows his journey with his mental health and all the ups and downs along the way. To me, the book was in a way very relatable, which I personally always love in a book. The way that Craig reacted to situations and simply the things he struggled with as a teen, is very compelling and I sort of saw myself in him a little bit, as I am also a teenager.
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould is a young adult paranormal thriller that follows the adventures of a teenage girl as she tries to unravel the mysteries of a small town in Oregon. Logan’s parents are famous ghosthunters, but when they return to their hometown to film their show, Logan knows something more is going on. Along with some local teens, Logan investigates the darkness that consumes the town. While Gould maintains an ominous tone throughout the novel, I didn’t find most of the story very creepy.
Edith Warton's narration of high society life during the Golden Age of Old New York is filled with drama, forbidden romance, and betrayal. Newland Archer is wealthy, popular, and he's about to marry New York's finest young woman, May Welland; everything changes when May's cousin, Ellen Olenska, returns to New York. Archer is pulled between his duty to May and his desire for Ellen. Warton's plotlines were exciting, and her writing was palpable. I despised Archer after the first couple of chapters, but Warton's story kept me intrigued and even made me root for Archer at times.
Madeline Miller’s Circe is a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of a witch with the powers of transformation. Born to Helios, the Titan god of the sun yet evidently without any powers of her own, Circe has a childhood in the shadows, largely unnoticed unless harassed. She discovers her magical abilities after picking flowers grown from the blood of gods and is cast down from the halls of the gods for her offense. Stranded on an island and forbidden to leave, a cast of characters from Greek mythology enter her story.
