ARC Review: The Similars by Rebecca Hanover

Title: The Similars (The Similars #1)
Author: Rebecca Hanover
Genre: Science Fiction 
Source: NetGalley and BookExpo 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: January 1st 2019

Summary: 

When six clones join Emmaline’s prestigious boarding school, she must confront the heartbreak of seeing her dead best friend’s face each day in class. The Similars are all anyone can talk about at the elite Darkwood Academy. Who are these six clones? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? Who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emma couldn't care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and all she can think about is how to get through her junior year without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi—Oliver's exact DNA replica and one of the Similars. Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper and deeper into their clique, uncovering dark truths about the clones and her prestigious school along the way. But no one can be trusted…not even the boy she is falling for who has Oliver's face. 

***Trigger Warning: Mentions of Suicide***

The Similars is a perfect way to start off 2019! Set in the near future The Similars is a perfect example of scientific advantages that the human race has made so far and how it could go so wrong. From start to finish The Similars had me captivated with its uniqueness and twists and turns. The Similars is perfect for fans of science fiction and psychological thrill rides. This book messed with my head in the most perfect of ways. 

Emma's best friend Oliver had committed suicide during summer break, devastating Emma. Returning to Darkwood Academy, an elite boarding school for brilliant teens is torture for her. This year is different though, not only does Emma have to face the year with out her best friend by her side but it is also the first year that the Headmaster is allowing clones to be admitted as students. In a lab mistake sixteen years ago after the cloning process was created six teens from Darkwood Academy where cloned from their cord blood and now those clones are attending Darkwood. The sixth teen though? Emma's best friend Oliver. Levi, Oliver's clone someone that Emma wants to hate desperately but must work with to figure out the grand scheme behind the Similar's suddenly being allowed at Darkwood, the mystery behind their upbringing and who is not who they claim to be.

(I don't think my summary did any of this book justice but it has been a few days and my mind is still thoroughly screwed with and I can barley form coherent thoughts on the matter.) 

I loved the world building in this. Essentially there really isn't much world building considering it doesn't take place too far into the future. Some sci-fi books are pretty heavy on world building that it takes away from the plot. I am glad The Similars didn't fall into that. I really enjoyed reading about the scientific advantages that have been made and the technological advances. It gave The Similars a scary real vibe. Scientist can already clone animals so this book isn't a far reach into the future in the slightest! 

I really enjoyed Emma's character. She was really easy to relate to. Her actions towards Levi int he beginning of the novel are understandable as time goes on and we see how she mourns Oliver and that Levi is a constant reminder of what she lost. I was a little standoffish initially about Emma falling for Levi for the fact that he is Oliver's exact DNA code. Though they are different people it is still Oliver if in the end. (If that made any sense at all.) But Emma was able to distinguish the difference between her best friend and the boy she is falling for.  The romance also didn't take up the whole plot of The Similars, it was there but I didn't slow or make the plot halt. 

In the end I am super excited to see what the sequel of The Similars is going to have install considering how it ended. Hanover's debut was simply amazing and will be a book that I will be pushing on everyone. 

Guest Review: Keeper by Kim Chance

Title: Keeper
Author: Kim Chance 

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publisher: Flux Books
Paperback, 408 Pages
Published January 2018

Summary: When a 200-year-old witch attacks her, sixteen-year-old bookworm Lainey Styles is determined to find a logical explanation. Even with the impossible staring her in the face, Lainey refuses to believe it—until she finds a photograph linking the witch to her dead mother. After consulting a psychic, Lainey discovers that she, like her mother, is a Keeper: a witch with the exclusive ability to unlock and wield the Grimoire, a dangerous but powerful spell book. But there’s a problem. The Grimoire has been stolen by a malevolent warlock who is desperate for a spell locked inside it—a spell that would allow him to siphon away the world’s magic. With the help of her comic-book-loving best friend and an enigmatic but admittedly handsome street fighter, Lainey must leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book.

Today on the blog we have a guest review from Lucia over at her self-titled website, Lucia Brucoli! They were kind enough to stop by and review Keeper and share their thoughts on it, and we couldn't be more excited to have them here as our guest reviewer for today! So without further ado, let's get into it!

So. I just finished KEEPER and am a mess of emotions, which is good because I love that in any book: The ability to leave me wanting more and wanting it to stop, confused but fully understanding, both happy and sad, and of course heartbroken. 

From the beginning: Lainey is a studious bookworm with a close friend called Maggie, who is absolutely hilarious and loves comic superheroes. First off, this duo is stunningly like one of my close friends and me, which already made me love the story. The plot is that Lainey starts seeing a bleeding woman, a ghost calling her name. After a bit of digging, she finds out she is her ancestor. The woman was a Keeper, as was Lainey’s late mother and Lainey discovers she is one as well. Keepers are witches with the power to unlock the Grimoire, a magical spell-book that is especially treasured in Lainey’s family, because it has a spell which The Master, a powerful evil warlock, wants. Lainey’s line of Keepers all gave their lives to preserve the book to save all magic. In all of this comes a boy called Ty, a handsome street fighter which Maggie rightly nicknames ‘Pretty Face’. The trio was priceless. 

The plot was very well-rounded, but at times, the pacing could be a bit too slow. This was due to the fact that the first half had internal conflict, while the last half had external. The first was great for character and setting development, as I could go into the characters’ minds and discover the world around them. However, it lacked action which was then included in the second half, which was my favorite. 

One of the things I loved most were the mind-blowing plot twists at the very end of the book… but one of them, the most ‘twisting’, wasn’t explained. Personally, I couldn’t find enough foundation and foreshadowing in the rest of the book to provide support for it, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. I hope this loose end will be elaborated in the sequel, SEEKER. 

The character dynamics, as I mentioned before, were amazing. All characters had depth, but I had a slight problem with Maggie. As much as I love the friendship between her and Lainey, I felt that she didn’t have a life outside Lainey and her adventures. Maggie’s motivation behind following Lainey was elaborated a bit when she said she was living her superhero dream, but this was revealed near the end and so for most of the book, it was like she was doing it all for friendship: which is great, except she always put herself at risk and in life-and-death situations without a second thought. She also seemed to know more than she could, given the circumstances, which brings me to my next point. 

There were numerous unrealistic instant-realizations throughout the story, in which the characters were aware of things and events without enough backup. They moved the plot forward, but left me re-reading the page, wondering how the characters knew something they hadn’t known before.

I also had a few doubts about the language used in the novel as well, for example words such as ‘panty-dropper’. It was clear that the author had done this to give the characters more ‘teenage voices’, but those words aren’t popular anymore, and there wasn’t any evidence of the novel being set back then. Fortunately, they decreased as the story developed.  Another problem with language use was that there was a lot of passive voice, strained prose, info-dumps, and filter words such as ‘realized’ and ‘felt’ that I mentally rephrased as I read. 

Then why do I give this book a rating of 4/5 stars without second thought? Because there were so many qualities that outweighed the rest. For instance, I simply loved Lainey. She is a relatable, dynamic, well-rounded character and I see so much of myself in her that it made me invested in the story. Contrary to many unrealistically-perfect MCs I encountered, Lainey was humane and felt fear, anger and sadness. We are shown her weaknesses, and that is why she felt so alive and real throughout the story. It is also worth noting that the writer included POC rep, which is shown with pride. 

What stood out to me most in the story which I loved was- love. There was a great romantic subplot, but also non-romantic love, from Lainey’s familiar love for her uncle Gareth, to the strange love she has toward weird psychic aunt, to the friendship-love she has for Maggie. Each character relationship was carefully crafted and made the characters feel alive because the reader could relate to the feelings they had for each other. The book displayed how staying by someone’s side through both good and bad times proves they really love you, and it was clear that the author put much work into cultivating those relationships. This made me cheer for the characters and develop empathy for them. 

Something else I loved about this book was that the prose was rich and vivid, transporting me into the scene, which was a major reason why I kept reading it. Chance skillfully appealed to the senses in her writing and made me feel many emotions throughout the story. She showed consistent themes such as ‘family’ and ‘destiny’, and created a gripping climax which was a real page turner. She’d put clues and foreshadowing before it, which made the experience all the more amazing when emotions peaked around the end of the story: I couldn’t stop reading! 

On a side note, I’d like to briefly mention the cover, which is gorgeous and really a work of art!!

In conclusion, even though there were some weaknesses throughout the book, I believe it was worth reading because the story and characters have stayed with me and I really can’t wait to read SEEKER. I recommend this book for fantasy and magic realism readers :)

We'd like to once again thank Lucia for stopping by The Book Bratz today to post this guest review. Don't forget to check out their website!

** Psst! Interested in guest reviewing on The Book Bratz? Shoot us an email at thebookbratz@gmail.com or DM us on Twitter (@thebookbratz) and we'd love to have you!

Interview with RuthAnne Snow!

Today on the blog, we have an interview with RuthAnne Snow, 2019 debut author of When the Truth Unravels! So without further ado, let's get into it!

About the Author

RuthAnne Snow was born and raised in Kaysville, Utah. She was a sorority girl in college and social activities director in law school—which was a lot like being back in the sorority. She has interned for the U.S. Senate, worked on policy papers for Congress and the State Department, and once spent a year sorting through emails looking for fraud. It wasn’t nearly as fun as writing fiction. She loves travel, dogs, horror movies, and baking.

Twitter / Goodreads Author Page

Author Interview

First of all -- how does it feel to be a debut author? 
I know it's cliche, but it's literally a dream come true. I've wanted to be a published writer for years and I've had a lot of near-misses in the past, so I am doing my best to embrace this experience and love it--the lows and the highs.

What gave you the idea for When The Truth Unravels? 
I read 13 Reasons Why, like a lot of people, and while I found there was a lot to be admired with that book, I honestly felt like there was a big piece of the story that was missing, and that was how mental health impacts decision-making when it comes to suicidal behaviors. I think people want to view suicide through the lens of things like bullying because bullying is an external force that people can see and attempt to stop. Everyone wants to find the solution to the problem, right? But the fact is, mental health is a much bigger piece of the puzzle, and a much more complicated one. 

So I had this on my mind at the same time I was thinking about friendship stories and how much I loved my friends--as messy as we all are--and I started to get the idea for these four girls who are best friends but who are all hiding things from each other. Not because they're being toxic friends, but just because a lot of the time, we aren't ready to talk about serious topics even with the ones we love best. Maybe even especially with the ones we love best.

How long did it take you to write this story? Did you start it as soon as you thought about it, play around with it first, get other opinions, try other projects first, etc.? 
It took me a little over fifteen months from when I first started drafting the manuscript to the point where I felt comfortable querying. During that time I got a lot of feedback from my trusted critique partners and Emily Martin, the mentor I found in the Pitch Wars contest. There were a lot of different versions--the version I am most proud of, the one that is being published, is a four-POV narrative with a dual timeline, past and present. But initially I had the brilliant (read: not brilliant) idea to make every chapter skip through time, messing up both timelines to create a two-way puzzle across four voices and ... yeah, that was a really bad idea, haha. I was never able to make it make sense, and every piece of feedback tended to read like some version of, "Why are you doing this?" Listen to your CPs and betas, folks.

In your opinion, what was the best part of writing When The Truth Unravels? 
Gosh, I loved a lot of it, but when I think back on it, the memories I love most was the ones about writing Jenna--a teenage girl who is hyper-competent and unapologetically ambitious. May we all channel a little bit more hyper-competence and ambition in our lives.

What's the hardest? 
Trying to address anything that could cause harm to a reader and mitigating that in every way I can think of, knowing that it is possible I will miss something anyway. It's important to be cognizant of that, especially when writing for kids and about mental illness. You have to be realistic and also aware that "realism" can hurt kids who are already hurting. But you know what they say, if it isn't hard, it probably isn't worth doing.

How have you been settling in to the bookish (and the blogging!) community as a new author? 
I seriously couldn't adore this community more. I love how people are so enthusiastic about their projects, the books they've read that they loved and want to share with others. The community service aspects--I got the chance to give away critiques for various humanitarian causes, all organized by other writers. I sincerely believe that book people are the best people. 

Do you have any ideas for any future writing projects or directions that you want to go in? 
I currently have a second book with my agent, so cross your fingers for me and the mystery that is publishing. I love writing funny-serious YA contemporary and I hope I get to do lots more of it.

About the Book

Title: When The Truth Unravels

Author: RuthAnne Snow

Hardcover, 304 Pages

Publication Date: January 8th, 2019

Summary: Last month, Elin tried to kill herself. She knows she's lucky that her parents found her in time. Lucky to be going to prom with her three best friends, like any other teen. Like it never happened. And if she has anything to say about it, no one but her best friends will ever know it did. Jenna, Rosie, and Ket will do anything to keep Elin's secret--and to make sure it never happens again. That's why they're determined to make prom the perfect night. The night that convinces Elin that life is worth living. Except, at prom, Elin goes missing. Now it's up to her friends to find her. But each of the girls has her own demons to face. Ket is being blackmailed by an ex. Rosie is falling in love for the first time. And Jenna...Jenna is falling apart. And no one, not even her best friends, knows why. Heart-wrenching and utterly impossible to put down, When the Truth Unravels follows four friends as they confront their greatest hopes and darkest secrets during one life-changing night.

We'd like to thank RuthAnne Snow for being awesome enough to stop by the blog and let us host this interview! If When The Truth Unravels sounds like something you're interested in, then don't forget to add it to your Goodreads TBR, which you can do by clicking here -- and stay tuned for its January 2019 release!

ARC Review: Match Me If You Can by Tiana Smith

Title: Match Me If You Can
Author: Tiana Smith

Publisher: Swoon Reads
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Hardcover, 288 Pages
Publication Date: January 8th, 2019

Summary: Mia's best friend Robyn is known for her matchmaking skills, which is perfect, because homecoming is just around the corner. But Robyn refuses to set Mia up with the guy of her dreams, which forces Mia to take matters into her own hands. She uses Robyn's matchmaking service to make sure popular Vince Demetrius falls for her. Vince asks her out, but Mia doesn't count on Logan, the persistent school newspaper photographer who seems to like her out of the blue. Now she has to choose between Vince - the guy she knows is right for her - and Logan, who insists that she give him a chance. And she needs to make sure Robyn doesn't find out that Mia's been matchmaking behind her back. Mia has two weeks before homecoming. Can she fix the mess she made or will she have to kiss her perfect match goodbye forever?

I received an ARC of Match Me If You Can by Tiana herself because she was super kind and heard that we were interested in featuring 2019 debut authors. I'm so glad that I got a chance to read this book, because it was so adorable and heartwarming and it was just what I needed in the midst of studying for exams. So without further ado, let's get into the review!

As the summary explains, Mia has a massive crush on her school's star athlete, Vince. She tries to convince her best friend, Robyn, to hook them up through her super-successful matchmaking business. The only problem? Robyn refuses to do so, because she doesn't think they'll be a good match. So Mia goes behind her back and hacks into Robyn's email to set up the match herself, and once that happens, Mia thinks she's about to have the best relationship of her life. But she quickly learns that Robyn has a method for her madness, because Vince isn't turning out to be the perfect boyfriend that Mia has been dreaming of all along. Instead, there's another guy in the picture, Logan...someone that Mia never in a million years ever saw herself liking, let alone getting along with. 

You guys, this book was so freaking adorable that I found myself smiling almost the entire way through. There were so many cute, swoon-worthy moments, as well as some tense friendship battles, and even a shocking food fight or two. This book was less than 300 pages and I tore through it so quickly because I couldn't put it down and kept wanting to know what was going to happen next, as the drama kept unfolding!

My favorite character in this book was definitely Logan. Not only was he sarcastic and funny and definitely very attractive, but it was clear how he had a heart of gold and how much he liked Mia, even if it took her awhile to realize it at first. At times, I wanted to shake Mia and show her how amazing and cute and swoon-worthy he was being, because she was too oblivious to realize it at the time. Robyn definitely was right in thinking that Logan was a good match for Mia, because he was so freaking adorable that I couldn't take it.

As for what I wasn't crazy about with this book, it's a bit tricky to explain, and I want to be clear that this is just my perspective on the entire thing, and I am in no way saying that I am the peak of literary criticism -- my thoughts are entirely my own, and that is just how I felt. I found it hard to connect with Mia as a character, because she felt kind of immature to me, in a way that I found it really hard to connect to. Maybe just because I've read that type of story so many times, but I was a little frustrated during the times where I read Mia outright saying that she noticed Logan and felt butterflies but thought it was probably nothing. I wanted to nudge her and be like girl, it's something!! Enjoy it!! ...But yeah. I had some struggles with reading this book at times because the speaker's voice felt a little immature to me, not so much in age, but just the way she talked and with the way she was describing the story. But eventually I grew to get used to it and it wasn't tripping me up as much as I was reading.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Match Me If You Can. It was an adorable book that made my heart feel so warm and fuzzy, and it also was less than 300 pages, so it's a really quick read! If you're looking for some 2019 debut authors to watch, I definitely think that Tiana Smith is one of them. This book is definitely one that I'll be recommending to my romance-loving friends!

Be on the lookout for our exclusive interview with Tiana Smith, coming soon!

ARC Review: The Similars by Rebecca Hanover

Title: The Similars
Author: Rebecca Hanover

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Publication Date: January 1st, 2019

Summary: The Similars are all anyone can talk about at the elite Darkwood Academy. Who are these six clones? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? Who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emma couldn't care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and all she can think about is how to get through her junior year without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi—Oliver's exact DNA replica and one of the Similars. Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper and deeper into their clique, uncovering dark truths about the clones and her prestigious school along the way. But no one can be trusted…not even the boy she is falling for who has Oliver's face.

I received an ARC of The Similars at BookExpo this year, after watching a panel that Rebecca was on. While she was describing her book, I found myself hooked, and I immediately knew that I needed a copy. Luckily for me, she was hosting a signing shortly after the panel, which I immediately sped on over to. Not only did I get this fantastic book, but I also got to meet the author behind it, and she's super sweet and spectacular as well! <3

Okay, okay. Enough chitchat. It's time for my review!

As the summary explains, Emma lives in a world where The Similars exist --genetically identical clones that look exactly like their actual counterparts. They aren't robots or anything like that -- they're regular kids, with regular lives, who grow up in normal situations (or so you think)...they just have more than a doppelganger out there. They have an actual identical twin. So it's strange enough for Emma when six Similars come to her elite boarding school, being that all of them are copies of another student at school. But it's the sixth one that hurts her the most -- Levi, who is an exact replica of her best friend Ollie. The same Ollie that committed suicide over the summer and left her heart shattered in a million different pieces when she found him.

What I really liked about this book was how different it was. As any avid reader knows, it can be hard to find a refreshing story that takes you on an emotional trip you haven't ever really considered before. Luckily for me, The Similars gave me exactly that. This new premise chilled me down to my core while it also made me contemplate some things about my own life, such as what makes me me -- clearly, as this book indicates, your DNA isn't the only thing that truly makes you an individual. So this book definitely messes with your head and drags you into a really intense story that you'll find yourself unable to step out of. This book hooked me from start to finish, and that's what I enjoyed most about it!

My favorite character in this book was definitely Emma. She was super headstrong and was always outspoken about what was right, which was just part of the reason that I was cheering her on throughout the entire book. Her love for her family and for her friends was so evident throughout the entire story, and when she was with Levi...*swoon* That's all I'm going to say on that topic, but you should definitely pick up the book to find out more.

There really wasn't anything that I disliked about this book. There were a few times here and there where I felt like time jumped pretty fast and I needed to take a second to get my bearings (such as during Thanksgiving Break, Christmas, etc.), but other than that, there wasn't really anything that distracted me from this story. I was completely, totally hooked, and my eyes were practically burning by the time I put this book down because I couldn't look away -- I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next, which is how I tore through this nearly 400-paged book in only a few days! (And yes, I may have stumbled on my walk to class once or twice because I was walking with the book in front of my face and didn't realize where I was going...oops.)

(Spoilers in this paragraph, so skip to the next one if you don't want the story ruined for you!) OMG, though, that ENDING. I love reading advanced copies of books and being able to share my thoughts on them with you guys, but now it's going to be so tough not only waiting for THIS book's release, but also for news about the sequel, because that's definitely something that I need. I was totally shocked when Ollie ended up being alive, but I'm sad to report that I actually was expecting the plot twist with Emma being a Similar. I can't even explain how I knew it, other than the fact that there was a large emphasis on Emma's disconnect with her father and her "miraculous" recovery was never really explained/was brushed over pretty easily, so that was the biggest hint for me. But I still enjoyed reading it, and it wasn't so glaringly obvious that it disappointed me when it eventually came around in the story!

Overall, I absolutely loved The Similars and I know that I'll be recommending this book to all of my friends and family members that love a little psychological thrill. This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster and held me hostage from start to finish, but I was honestly so delighted about that, because this was such an incredible story. I haven't ever read anything like this before, which was part of what made it so wonderful. But you can definitely count on the fact that I'll be reading the second book -- hopefully we won't have to wait too long for it!