Mini Monday (5): Rikki by Abigail Strom

Goodreads synopsis

Ever since junior high and an ill-fated game of seven minutes in heaven, Rikki Eisendrath and Sam Payne have hated each others’ guts. But when they end up at the same college—and the same dorm—they figure it’s time to declare a truce.

They even become friends… sort of. But when Sam asks Rikki to model for his sculpting project, they start spending more time together—and her feelings for him get more complicated.

She tries to focus on the guy she’s been crushing on instead. But Sam’s the one she can’t stop thinking about, even though their arguments are starting to heat up as much as the chemistry between them.

With antagonism and attraction this intense, there’s bound to be an explosion. But when the dust settles, will Sam and Rikki be enemies, friends… or something more?

Thoughts

A fun and angsty quick read! Very easy to get through in an evening if you have the time. The protagonists were quite funny throughout and generally pretty likeable. I would like to continue with this series. 

Mini Monday (4): Dead Ringer by Jessie Rosen

Goodreads synopsis

From the moment Laura Rivers steps foot into Englewood High, she notices the stares—and they aren’t the typical once-overs every pretty new girl endures. The students seem confused and…spooked. Whispers echoing through the halls confirm that something is seriously off. “That new girl looks just like her,” they say.

It turns out Laura has a doppelgänger, and it isn't just anyone—it's Sarah Castro-Tanner, the girl who killed herself by jumping into the Navasink River one year ago.

Laura is determined not to let the gossip ruin her chances of making a fresh start. Thanks to her charming personality and California tan, she catches the eye of Englewood’s undisputed golden boy, Charlie Sanders, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their relationship official.

But something is making Charlie and his friends paranoid—and Laura soon discovers it has to do with Sarah Castro-Tanner.

What really happened to Sarah? Why is Charlie unraveling? And how does Laura Rivers fit into it all?

After all, she’s the dead ringer for a dead girl.

Thoughts

At best this was an average YA thriller/mystery for me. Took a long time to get going and I didn’t find the characters very interesting. It gets a few point for having some “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes. Younger teens just getting into YA mystery would probably enjoy the most, especially those who are fans of Pretty Little Liars. This whole plot could have been a Pretty Little Liars episode.

Waiting on Wednesday (24): Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For this week's waiting on Wednesday I'm spotlighting Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom.

Publication date: September 14, 2021

Goodreads synopsis

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

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Another book that has already been released as my spotlight for this week. This book has been on my TBR forever, and I'm hoping that this year is the year that I finally get my hands on it. Hopefully just in time for spooky season too! 

Mini Monday (3): The Zeuorian Awakening by Cindy Zablockis

Goodreads synopsis

Lexi’s no ordinary teenager. She was born with the ability to read minds and sense danger. But on her seventeenth birthday, she realized how different she was after transforming, literally that is. Now she’s developing powers stronger than a superhero. But she’s no superhero.

Far from it.

She has no control over her abilities and causes accidents every time she’s nervous or upset, which being a teenager is hard to avoid, especially when the most popular boys in school are fighting to be with her.

If that isn’t bad enough, a stranger is following her. She doesn't know who he is or what he wants, yet he knows all about her abilities and that she’s developing more. And . . . he’s her only hope of understanding why she’s changing and others are after her. What she learns will send her life into overdrive.

A romantic and suspenseful story with several unexpected twists, The Zeuorian captures the struggle between wanting to survive and longing to know the truth even if it means risking death.

Thoughts

The idea for this book was something that I think had the potential to be good, but the execution missed the mark for me. I loved the premise of Lexi's abilities and how she struggled for control. What I didn't like, is the slew of potential love interests that weren't at all, well, interesting. This book is another one that is VERY YA. I would probably only recommend it to younger YA readers.

Waiting on Wednesday (23): Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For this week's waiting on Wednesday I'm spotlighting Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Publication date: September 9, 2025

Goodreads synopsis

A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house.

Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parent’s messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.

After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.

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I have really enjoyed all that I have read of Rachel Harrison's novels, and I'm so excited about this one. It feels like the perfect intro to spooky season and I'm hoping that I get my hands on it soon!

Mini Monday (2): Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

I'm back with another Mini Monday. I'm just so much more likely to post if I keep myself on some kind of weekly feature schedule. For my second Mini Monday while I clean out my drafts, I have a mini review of Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski.

Goodreads Synopsis

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming.

Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same. So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Thoughts

I thought that I was going to love this book. I was so excited to read it. So maybe this is partially my fault because I had such expectations for this book to be fun and exciting, but I feel like this story really let me down. It had such an interesting premise. What if a whole high school class could hear what others were thinking?

I think my main issue is that the idea wasn't explored deeply enough. I thought we would get more conspiracy theory-esque thoughts. However, what was mostly offered was thoughts on how to use this newfound ability to read minds to...get a boyfriend, and the whole thing was a mess with how many narrators we had going on throughout the story. 

This is VERY much a YA book. The thoughts are juvenile, because the characters are. Sometimes these thoughts were very eye-roll inducing to me. I would not recommend this book to anybody who feels like they may be beginning to age out of the YA genre.

Mini Monday: Sunshine Is Forever by Kyle T. Cowan

I've realized that I have a LOT of drafts from years ago. Most of them are short reviews that I never actually got around to posting. To get them out of my drafts and into posts that I can share with you, I've decided that on Mondays I am going to post one until my drafts are cleaned out. Without further ado, welcome to my first Mini Monday!

Sunshine is Forever by Kyle T. Cowan

Goodreads Synopsis

After a life-changing decision, Hunter decides that he can’t go on…

…which lands him in Camp Sunshine, a rehab center for depressed teens. Hunter is determined to keep everyone there out of his head, especially his therapist. But when he meets Corin, a beautiful, mysterious, and confident fellow camper, all Hunter wants to do is open up to her, despite the fact that he’s been warned Corin is bad news.

When Corin devises a plan for them to break out of the camp, Hunter is faced with the ultimate choice — will he run from the traumatic incident he’s tried so hard to escape, or will he learn that his mistakes have landed him right where he’s meant to be?

Sunshine is Forever captures the heartbreaking spirit of The Fault in Our Stars, the humor of Orange is the New Black, and the angst of Catcher in the Rye.

Thoughts

I struggled a little to get through this book. The author tackled the very difficult subject matter of depression and suicide, and I would love to say that it was handled well, but a lot of the time, the writing was repetitive, and the story became boring to me at times.

One aspect that I did enjoy was the intimate relationship in this book. It could be described as insta love, but I didn’t mind it. To me it felt like two teenagers clinging to each other while they struggled to navigate their lives and mental health. I think it’s fair to say that they probably would have found a way to cling to anything that may have made them feel some kind of escape from their personal darkness, and I think that that is a feeling that a lot of people can resonate with.

Overall, I did not feel captivated in any way by this story, even though I did enjoy the relationship dynamics occasionally. I wouldn’t say I definitely don’t recommend this book, but it definitely wasn’t for me.