You've Reached Sam - Review

 

By: Dustin Thao

Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult

Publication Date: November 2, 2021, by Wednesday Books

Rate: ♥♥♥♥

Goodreads│Amazon │Audible

Source: NetGalley

Book Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes.

Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail.

And Sam picks up the phone.

In a miraculous turn of events, Julie’s been given a second chance at goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes her fall for him all over again, and with each call, it becomes harder to let him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn’t easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam’s family is going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever. 

My Thoughts:

This was a sad story about a girl losing someone she loved and how she deals with the loss. How she learns to function and starts living her own life again. It was sad as you would expect but also gave you hope. 

I enjoyed the book but gave it 4 hearts because, in the end, I was able to set the book down and not stay up reading all night.

The Wondercurrent (Rella PenSword & The Red Notebooks #1) - Review

 

By: J.R. Parks

Genre: Children's, Fantasy

Publication Date: November 16, 2019, ParksWrites

Rate: ♥♥

Goodreads│Amazon │Audible

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Book Summary:

In a distant but recognizable future, where interdimensional travel and dream travel intersect, a young girl from Earth One, Rella Deveraux-PenSword, is called upon to protect and defend Hleo: a very special, enchanted refuge for children who need protection and healing. In order to help defend Hleo, Rella must stop Archimago (the shape-shifting story thief) and his menacing miscreations, The Swadowsplitters, from destroying The Wondercurrent: the source of life and hope for all who remain under Hleo's protection.

When Rella's own parents (who are part of a secret alliance of story keepers) go missing, she is forced to flee her home. AS she flees, she is mysteriously transported to Hleo, where she finds a magic scroll and a secret message with a mission specifically meant for her. To fulfill her mission, Rella teams up with a fellowship of four other children (Eurie, Quinn, Scarlett, and Sebastian) and an assortment of wild and whimsical animals, including Thalas (a giant, strong-willed hawk with metallic feathers), Alister ( a sleepy, sleepy bear who resides halfway in and out of trees), and Menagerie (a chameleon-tiger with a sacred family lineage). 

The Wondercurrent, a family-friendly fantasy, is the first book in the Rella PenSword and the Red Notebooks series.

My Thoughts:

I read this to my 8-year-old daughter at night before bed. It had interesting characters that had great potential, but it felt confusing and kind of all over the place. It also could have moved a little faster. We read the entire book hoping to come to a conclusion but it will evidently have another book at some time in the future. 

I gave it two hearts because it just didn't draw either of us in and I probably won't be reading the next book.

Chasing Starlight - Review

 

By: Emily Stormbrook

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Publication Date: February 15, 2021, Independently Published

Rate: ♥♥♥♥

Goodreads│Amazon

Source: NetGalley

Book Summary:

At fourteen Sirona Leigh made a terrible mistake. She had spent her life convincing everyone she was a siren robbed of her voice by illness, then she saved a young man and exposed the true nature of her gift. On the run, she and her parents moved from one place to place, trying to keep one step ahead of those who would drag her back and force her into a compelled-mating with their alpha.

Years later she is forced to seek sanctuary with Timberland Pack and is reunited with the alpha's son, her soulmate. Only this cruel and twisted man is nothing like the person she envisioned when she'd pulled him from the car and felt the connection of souls.

This man was a monster who thrived on her destruction and with her twenty-first birthday looming ever close she has an important decision to make, one that could affect the very balance of power in the preternatural world.

Liam, a beta of the Elswyth Chase PAck had spent his entire life giving up everything for his brother, his parents' affection, his pack, his position, almost his life. Never had he wanted anything for his own? Not until he set eyes upon Sirona, the silver-haired siren.

For once his brother has something he wanted, something he is willing to fight for. But would she forsake her soulmate for the man who has always, in his parents' eyes, come second?

My Thoughts:

I thought it could have used a little more detailed descriptions but I loved the shifter aspect of the story. I also wished Liam's twin Luke would have gotten what was coming to him for being such a jerk. I thoroughly enjoyed Sirona and Liam's story and the ending.

I loved the book but gave it 4 hearts because of the things listed above.