Waiting on Wednesday: The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine where we highlight some of the upcoming books we can't wait to read!

Title: The Best Lies
Author: Sarah Lyu
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: July 2nd, 2019



Summary: Remy Tsai used to know how her story would turn out. But now, she doesn’t even know what tomorrow will look like. She was happy once. Remy had her boyfriend Jack, and Elise, her best friend—her soulmate—who understood her better than anyone else in the world. But now Jack is dead, shot through the chest— And it was Elise who pulled the trigger. Was it self-defense? Or something deeper, darker than anything Remy could have imagined? As the police investigate, Remy does the same, sifting through her own memories, looking for a scrap of truth that could save the friendship that means everything to her. Told in alternating timelines, Thelma and Louise meets Gone Girl in this twisted psychological thriller about the dark side of obsessive friendship.

Oh my gosh, the summary of this book already seems so enticing that I need to read this book immediately. Hopefully I can last long enough to survive until July, because this story...wow. There are just so many questions I have that I can't wait to read and find out the answers. Not to mention the fact that the cover is also super gorgeous, which is another reason I'm so drawn to this book. Like I said, July can't come fast enough! 

What are you waiting on this week? Leave your links so I can stop back! 

ARC Review: Valiant by Merrie Destefano

Title: Valiant
Author: Merrie Destefano
Genre: Science Fiction 
Source: Teenreads & Entangled Teen via NetGalley
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Publication Date: December 4th 2018 (Happy release day!)

Summary: 

The Valiant was supposed to save us. Instead, it triggered the end of the world. Earth is in shambles. Everyone, even the poorest among us, invested in the Valiant’s space mining mission in the hopes we’d be saved from ourselves. But the second the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, our fate is sealed. The alien invasion begins. They pour into cities around the world through time portals, possessing humans, forcing us to kill one another. And for whatever reason, my brother is their number one target. Now the fate of the world lies in the hands of me, a seventeen-year-old girl, but with the help of my best friend, Justin―who’s suddenly starting to feel like more―maybe if we save my brother, we can save us all…

*This review was originally posted on Teenreads.com*

Quite honestly, Valiant is one of the most intriguing and fast paced science fiction books I have read in a long time. Don't get me wrong I have read books that have had me feeling like I was a part of that world but Valiant had a different feel. From page one Valiant takes off and doesn't slow down for a moment. Valiant was a page turner that had me flying through the pages with my heart pounding to find out what was going to happen next. 

I liked Sara's character a lot she was smart and insightful. Sara is an average teenage girl that is just trying to survive in the near future and keep her friends and family safe. Valiant was suppose to save the earth but instead it opened the door to the Xua invasion. But out of the millions of people in the world Sara's younger brother Gabe is the key to saving the world. In the first invasion Sara watches as all her friends die and Gabe is killed, but an Xua rebel rescues Sara and shows her the secret of time travel and soon Sara has relived the same horrible invasion over 14 times. This time this is the last time to save the world though and Sara will do everything in how power to keep Gabe and her friends alive. Even the boy she is finding herself falling in love with. 

As much as I liked Valiant I do wish there was more world building. There are still a lot of questions about the world currently, where the Valiant was traveling too, where the Xua are exactly from. I also wish the genetic manipulation program that Justin was a part of before his birth was expanded upon, it peaked my interest. The whole book revolves around Sara and Gabe and keeping Gabe safe from the Xua who are hunting him. But you never actually learn why Gabe and Sara are so important to the Xua. 

Besides the world building I really enjoyed Valiant. I found Sara to be a relatable character and I was easily able to put myself into her shoes. As I said from the first page to the last Valiant doesn't stop. Each page is action packed and full of twists and turns that will leave you entranced until the very last page. Considering the ending I am really eager to have my questions to answered in the next book. Book 2, where you at? 

ARC Review: Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton

Title: Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful 
Author: Arwen Elys Dayton 
Genre: Science Fiction, Anthology
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: December 4th 2018

Summary: 

For fans of television shows Black Mirror and Westworld, this compelling, mind-bending novel is a twisted look into the future, exploring how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at all. Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of "human." This extraordinary work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. The results range from the heavenly to the monstrous. Deeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton's Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is groundbreaking in both form and substance. 

This book was absolutely amazing. Spanning over hundred of years it shows the evolution of humanity with the advances in science that have been made. This book was brilliant and thought provoking as well as terrifying and undeniably real. This book is something that can’t be missed in 2018/2019. 

I didn't realize this was an anthology when I had requested it, so I was a little skeptical since I am not the biggest fan of anthologies but Ohmygod. The stories interconnect with a Reverend and his daughter over hundred of years worth of time. Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful was captivating, I couldn't read it fast enough and I was sad when I finished because I really wanted more. 

If you think about it, a lot of the things that Dayton talks about in this book are already happening or on their way of happening so her ideas aren't far fetched in the least. My favorite story in this anthology had to have been the last one. It's set far into the future where there is a huge divide between genetically modified humans and "protos" humans that have never been altered. It brings up the question of what species is more superior and if genetically altered people are a whole new species with in themselves. 

Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful brings up an array of questions as you read. It makes you think about the future and how things can go horribly wrong. It brings up with question of whether or not any of these things ethical and where the cut off is for ethical and unethical modifications. This book will be one to stand out in my mind for a long time to come and it will with out a doubt stay in everyone else's mind as well. 

December of Books Giveaway! (Open INT)

What a great way to ring in the holiday season then a giveaway! There are so many amazing books releasing this month and we are so excited to join the December of Books giveaway hop hosted by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight and Lonna @ FLYLēF!

One of my favorite December books that I have had the privilege of reading and reviewing, Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton, releases on December 4th. So if you haven't had the opportunity to check that book out you should! You can check out my 5 star review >>HERE<<!

Not sure what books are coming out this month!? We got you covered! Here are a few of the releases that we are super excited for! 

Giveaway time!!! 

• Open INT as long as Book Depository ships to you!
• Winner will receive one (1) book of their choice that was release in November up to $20 
• Giveaway starts at 12:00 AM EST on 12/1/18 and ends 11:59 PM EST on 12/31/18
• Winner will be emails and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen! 
• Don't lie about entries, you will be disqualified
• Not required but check out the other giveaways on the hop! More chances to win books!!! 
• Have fun!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to enter more giveaways on the December of Books Giveaway? Click the links to the blogs below to head over to their giveaways! Happy Hopping! 

November 2018 Blogging Recap!

It's officially the last month of 2018, which means it's time to recap all of the awesome things we did here on the blog in November! So without further ado, let's get into the recap!

In November...

....We did more guest reviews!

We started featuring guest reviews from other readers and bloggers on The Book Bratz (2 or 3 each month) earlier this year, and SO many awesome people seemed interested that we opened it up for the rest of the year! If you're interested in guest reviewing for us, head over to the Contact Us tab and shoot us an email! :-)

This month, our guests reviewed Skyward, Keeper, and The 57 Bus!

....We reviewed tons of great books!

This month, we reviewed Aquicorn Cove, Odd One Out, Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts), This is Not a Love Letter, Just For Clicks, The Similars, Match Me If You Can, Let's Talk About Love, Broken Things, The Wedding Date, and The Cruel Prince!

....We talked about the bookish things we were thankful for!

In honor of Thanksgiving, we talked about nine of the bookish things that we were thankful for this year, which you can check out by clicking here.

....We interviewed authors RuthAnne Snow, R.N. Merle, and Tiana Smith!

If you want to check it out RuthAnne's interview, click here. R.N. Merle's can be found here. If you want to check out Tiana's, you can click here.

....We talked about NaNoWriMo!

Even though we didn't participate traditionally this year, we still managed to work on manuscript edits, and we recap how that went here.

....We discussed toxic relationships in YA!

Amber did an entire post on some of the toxic relationships that take place in YA, which you can read by clicking here.

....We hosted a November of Books Giveaway!

It's been awhile since we hosted a giveaway hop, but we had so much fun with this post!

What was your favorite thing that we did on the blog this month? What are your recommendations for future posts/reviews? Comment down below and let us know! :-)

Now it's time for December -- which means our favorite time of the year is finally here...CHRISTMAS!!!