I had my birthday, I read the complete Throne Of Glass series, and I finally started BRing books, or, rather, I finally discovered BRs.
This was the first mystery that I've read that was out of the middle grade category. I think. Not sure, because most of the mysteries I've read were Enid Blyton, and I'm pretty sure they were all middle grade.
Anyway, I read the whole series after I was recommended it by a friend, my first online friend, in fact, and the one that introduced me to GR in the first place.
Ellingham Academy is a
famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors,
and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth
century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles,
twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a
game.”
Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter
were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods
of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It
became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.
True-crime
aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham
Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case.
That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding
new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the
actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening.
Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham
Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away
with murder.
The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in
the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will
continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.
This BOOK!!!!!!!
Oh My God it was incomplete........I am so glad that I started this series after the books were all out........
Thanks to Vi ✨ being infinite for recommending this book and series......I love you for this
That being said.......I could not put this down.....I really hoped Dottie wouldn't die....I was liking her a lot and I hoped she would live......but as is obvious from the synopsis.......(okay i just checked......and apparently it was not in the synopsis)
I am writing this review after I've finished the series.......so there might be stuff from the other books.......
First things first......Dottie Epstein is a smart girl....knowing the other books is giving me an advantage......but she is a smart and resourceful girl........whom I will always wish survived.
Then I read the pass going missing......and I was suspicious....of what I don't know.....but I was definitely suspicious and then of course the first murder......and I was like I should have known.......that pass going missing.....there was no way it was an innocent occurence.......
Also I'd like to put it out there that I kinda guessed the first murder victim before they died.......
So There.
I'm not a complete failure at this kinda stuff.
Also there is a lot of fog.......quite a lot.........
And that damn riddle about the stairs........*screams in agony*
The ending was truly surprising.....I absolutely had not seen that coming.
Absolutely loved this book and the series........cannot wait for the fourth book.
All Stevie Bell wanted
was to find the key to the Ellingham mystery, but instead she found her
classmate dead. And while she solved that murder, the crimes of the past
are still waiting in the dark. Just as Stevie feels she’s on the cusp
of putting it together, her parents pull her out of Ellingham academy.
For
her own safety they say. She must move past this obsession with crime.
Now that Stevie’s away from the school of topiaries and secret tunnels,
and her strange and endearing friends, she begins to feel disconnected
from the rest of the world. At least she won’t have to see David
anymore. David, who she kissed. David, who lied to her about his
identity—son of despised politician Edward King. Then King himself
arrives at her house to offer a deal: He will bring Stevie back to
Ellingham immediately. In return, she must play nice with David. King is
in the midst of a campaign and can’t afford his son stirring up
trouble. If Stevie’s at school, David will stay put.
The
tantalizing riddles behind the Ellingham murders are still waiting to be
unraveled, and Stevie knows she’s so close. But the path to the truth
has more twists and turns than she can imagine—and moving forward
involves hurting someone she cares for.
I loved the book!!!!!
Thanks again to Vi ✨ being infinite for recommending this book and series........I love your taste in books.
I did read all the books before writing this.....so there might be stuff from there.....
Well......I did guess the riddle had something to do with the title of this book......my little grey cells almost died from the effort of coming to that conclusion...........
Also the solution of the riddle??.........i hate you Maureen Johnson.
Some things I had to address:
1.Albert Ellingham
View Spoiler
2.George Marsh
A lovely read......one which kept me on my toes and could not put down.
Can't wait for the "The Box in the Woods"
Ellingham Academy must
be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank
gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an
accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong
place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie’s greatest
triumph . . .
She knows who Truly Devious is. She’s solved it. The greatest case of the century.
At
least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it’s hard to
concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David
disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure
that somehow—somehow—all these things connect. The three deaths in the
present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the
missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles
there must be answers.
Then another accident occurs as a massive
storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and
administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it’s time for
Stevie to do something stupid. It’s time to stay on the mountain and
face the storm—and a murderer.
I loved the book and the series and just adftadgadretddsrasar?!?!?!?!?
Though I do wish that the truth about Alice would have come out and that Stevie might have gotten the reward.........I have a feeling that it was better that it ended the way it did.
I am really, really glad to have had this book recommended to me.......and I can't wait for the next book in the series "The Box in the Woods".
Yet another book that pissed me...this one I picked because of the beautiful cover. And I was really disappointed.
When they’re stuck under one roof, the house may not be big enough for their hate…or their love.
Despite
having been shot, Tyson Trice has survived the mean streets of
Lindenwood, so nothing can faze him—not even being tossed into the
affluent coastal community of Pacific Hills.
Nandy Smith, the
golden girl of Pacific Hills, is not pleased when she hears her parents
are taking in a troubled teen boy. Nandy suddenly fears her summer
plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames.
The wall
between Trice and Nandy’s bedrooms feels as thin as the line between
love and hate. Through time, Trice brings Nandy out of her shell, and
Nandy attempts to melt the ice that's taken over Trice's heart. Only,
with the ever-present pull back to the Lindenwood streets, it’ll be a
wonder if Trice makes it through this summer at all.
I did not finish.
This book I waited a long time to finally get........and to be completely honest.......I just lost interest halfway through.
The premise was really interesting and the beginning was going really nice.......I don't know but the writing seemed a bit.......pretentious? and boring? and trying too hard?
And then it stopped making sense when she starts behaving weird for no reason.......cause she was behaving fine before......and then there was a sudden time skip.
Like till about halfway into the book......we were living the story from day to day......but then the sudden time skip ......like at the end of the chapter it's the start of summer.....and then suddenly it's one month through the summer in the next chapter........it really threw me off kilter.......and a lot of new stuff......as in people behving really weird.....like some characters did a total 180........it just made me lose interest.
The main reason I wanted to read this book was the really cute cover and the intriguing premise..........but then it just lost me.
I don't recommend this book for anyone who had high expectations of a quality rom-com......though for just passing the time i guess this might have been a good read......not really an interesting one.....but an okay book.
After not reviewing Red, White, and Royal Blue, I reviewed this. I'll have to reread that one, but I will write a review.
This book I loved without expecting to. I loved the Flatshare, and so when I saw this written by the same author, I had to read it.
Which reminds me, I need to do a reread of The Flatshare at some point, because that deserves a review too.
Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...
When
overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical
after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother
Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about
to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny
Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.
Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?
Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I put off reading this book for a long, long time ........mostly because one of the narrators was a seventy-nine year old woman, and I just thought it'd be really hard for me to relate enough to enjoy the book.
I was wrong. So, so wrong.
This book was one of the best in this genre that I've read. I found this looking for more books written by Beth O'Leary, after I read and loved The Flatshare.
The first few chapters I thought I was going to give up because it just wasn't speaking to me........but I'm glad I stuck with it. I am really mad at myself for not starting this earlier. It turned out to be a really awesome read that kept me hooked till the end.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves rom-coms and has read and loved The Flatshare. I can't wait for more books written by Beth O'Leary!!
The first book I read in which Fandom was in mainstream media. And it has made me love books centred around Fandom.
A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan..
But
for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and
her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series
when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother
leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing
Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie
premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now
that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to
be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort
zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around
boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end
of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk
about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving
and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the
question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her
hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own
stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
What I got was so much more.
There were so many layers to this story that I just........got lost in it. There were twin sisters who had different views of the world, there was a sort-of love triangle, there was, of course, fanfiction, and how the world sees it; there was a character dealing with..... anxiety?(if I'm not wrong).
My one bone to pick is that I wish some story lines were given an ending. Since this is a standalone book, I had hoped those would be resolved in this book itself.
View SpoilerThat being said this book was amazing and anyone who likes YA romance and/or fiction will like this.
My first BR!! In a group I have since left, (because I was really inactive), but this is the one that started it!
Don’t get mad, get even…
Thirty-something Charlotte’s Emsworth’s life is a sickeningly perfect round of charity events, hot yoga, and romantic gestures for sexy lawyer husband James. But, patiently waiting to get pregnant, Charlotte is bored. And when she’s bored, she has a tendency to meddle…
First, it’s her personal trainer Megan’s cheating fiancé, then the gardener Sam’s wife’s ‘late nights at the office’. But soon the meddling, however well-intentioned, lands Charlotte in way over her head, and all the time spent ‘managing’ other people’s lives makes her blind to the cracks appearing in her own…
Getting even is one thing, but what about getting happy?
My first Christina Lauren! I actually read this before Kingdom of Ash, but this looks better.
And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?
Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.
Short reviews will be the bane of my reader existence.
High school senior Cameron Bright’s reputation can be summed up in one word: bitch. It’s no surprise she’s queen bee at her private L.A. high school—she’s beautiful, talented, and notorious for her cutting and brutal honesty. So when she puts her foot in her mouth in front of her crush, Andrew, she fears she may have lost him for good.
My first adult fiction novel, and my introduction to this style of writing.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned--from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren--an enigmatic artist and single mother--who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood--and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Ok we are entering into spoiler territory:
View SpoilerThis book made me reassess the concept of motherhood. And I recommend it to anyone who thinks motherhood is easy. It's not.
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