Tag: ARCS

Title: The Waking Forest
Author: Alyssa Wees
Rating: ★★★

The waking forest has secrets. To Rhea, it appears like a mirage, dark and dense, at the very edge of her backyard. But when she reaches out to touch it, the forest vanishes. She’s desperate to know more—until she finds a peculiar boy who offers to reveal its secrets. If she plays a game.

To the Witch, the forest is her home, where she sits on her throne of carved bone, waiting for dreaming children to beg her to grant their wishes. One night, a mysterious visitor arrives and asks her what she wishes for, but the Witch sends him away. And then the uninvited guest returns.

The strangers are just the beginning. Something is stirring in the forest, and when Rhea’s and the Witch’s paths collide, a truth more treacherous and deadly than either could ever imagine surfaces. But how much are they willing to risk to survive?

The premise of this novel reminds me of a blend between Hansel and Gretel and Peter Pan. Rhea, our protagonist, lives with her parents, sister, and pet fox. Dreaming, and unable to know if they are reality or not, she sees this shadow of a boy (reminded me of the naughty Peter Pan) that believes they have met before. Slowly, members of her family start disappearing (but no one else believes they ever existed but her).

In an alternate universe, we come across a witch who is visited by a fox. This witch grants children wishes.

The waking forest has secrets. To Rhea, it appears like a mirage, dark and dense, at the very edge of her backyard. But when she reaches out to touch it, the forest vanishes. She’s desperate to know more—until she finds a peculiar boy who offers to reveal its secrets. If she plays a game.

To the Witch, the forest is her home, where she sits on her throne of carved bone, waiting for dreaming children to beg her to grant their wishes.

Eventually, the stories are woven together. I think this is where I got lost. I enjoyed the chapters alternating between characters and them being separate. Also, people dreaming and being involved in different worlds is getting a bit old for me, and I find myself not enjoying those stories as much. I wanted to love it and I felt like there was so much more potential, I just think the execution lost me a little bit.

Title: You’d Be Mine
Author: Erin Hahn
Rating: ★★★

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.

But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.

Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.

Annie Mathers is daughter to not one, but TWO famous parents. Doing everything in her power to not end up like her parents did, she wants no part in the country music lifestyle her parents had. But when an unknown and crush-worthy famous star shows up on her grandmother’s front porch, Annie finds the lifestyle she hated now hard to resist.

And that, boys and girls, is the story of how stone-cold Annie Mathers found her lady parts.

Clay, America’s swoon worthy star, is exactly the kind of trouble Annie has been trying to avoid. This bad boy isn’t all that he seems.

So, she sings like an angel, plays like the devil, pitches championships, and slays amusement park games. Is there anything you can’t do?

Trying to go against all odds, they still find themselves attracted to the opposite. But is there more to each of them than what appears?

This would’ve been just the book I would’ve been looking for in high school. It contains the glamour, the hot bad boy, and the playful love that every teenager wants in his/her life. A perfect summer read for a carefree reader, I can only imagine sipping on some sweet alcoholic beverage by the pool reading this. The audience really gets to know the characters and join in on the country of their character development. This is a perfect read for someone who wants to get swept away and not have a care in the world while reading it!

If I had to choose my favorite, you’d be mine.