I grabbed this for SYKD and thought it looked super cute. The girl on the cover kind of reminded me of Dua Lipa. THREE HEARTS HIDEAWAY is not what I was expecting at all, though, and I mean that in a good way. It's not just a small town romance, it's a smutty small town romance, about a woman who leaves her narcissistic and abusive ex after he humiliates her, somehow finding her way to what I can only imagine must be the Disneyland of Canada (Little Greenfield), picking up two hot B&B owners and entering into a poly relationship with them where they explore all her fantasies that she was shamed for having with her ex.
Man, I can't even find one dude who will treat me right and she found TWO? A real man could never compete with a fictional man, I swear.
Of the two I think I liked Logan more than Roman just because he gave off almost dark romance vibes. But I thought the dynamic was well done, and the enthusiastic consent and constant conversations and checking in were great. I've seen criticisms that some poly romances don't really handle this aspect well and I think it was done quite well here. Also, when they're not railing her six ways from Sunday, they treat her like a queen. Gin tasting? Gourmet chocolate? SIGN ME UP.
My only issue with the book was that it was a little too insta-lusty for me. Like some of the other readers, I wish there had been more build-up and tension to the relationship. But I understand that that wasn't necessarily what the author wanted to do with this book. It's just why it didn't work for me quite as well as it could have. I do highly recommend THREE HEARTS HIDEAWAY to anyone who really likes Eve Dangerfield, however, as I feel like they have very similar styles. It's the girly girl with the kinky heart that did it for me.
Also, seeing her horrible ex get punched in the face was solid gold.
I think this is the first religious YA book I read where instead of religious trauma, it focuses on people who use religion as a crutch to hide from oI think this is the first religious YA book I read where instead of religious trauma, it focuses on people who use religion as a crutch to hide from other problems
TEETH is such an immersive, interesting story. Reading it kind of felt like watching one of Hayao Miyazaki's darker, more adult movies, like Princess Mononoke, where human nature is put under the microscope and nothing is resolved with easy answers. It's set on an island with magical fish. Eating them cures any disease and prolongs life. Rudy is there with his family because his younger brother has cystic fibrosis, and if he doesn't eat the fish, his lungs don't work.
One day, while on the shore, Rudy meets a being named Teeth. Teeth is a mermaid-- sort of-- but not the kind that they make dolls of. He's hideously ugly and every night, he opens the fish traps and frees the fish, depleting the supply that all of the islanders desperately need. He also hates humans, but for whatever reason, he lets Rudy get close. And as the story progresses and the two boys grow closer, Rudy learns more about the mysterious Teeth and the secrets the island harbors.
This was not a perfect story by any means-- I do feel the ending lacked closure and some of that was intentional and some of it felt like an omission-- but it was transportive, lyrical, and beautiful, with a truly well done cast of "unlikable" and flawed characters, and a setting that was practically a character itself. I'm shocked that this book has fallen into obscurity instead of becoming a classic, because it is SO good. Thank god I have more Hannah Moskowitz books on my Kindle. I think I might have to read everything she ever wrote because this was just... amazing.
CLEVER CREATURES OF THE NIGHT is such an interesting book, part gothic, part survivalist horror. There's a very isolated and desolate vibe to the book, almost dystopic, and I would describe the vibe as "assemble style gothic": the heroine ends up in a remote area, trapped with a somewhat large cast, all of whom have something to hide, when she goes to first seek out answers about why her friend invited her to a rural Texas house out in the middle of nowhere-- and then, later, why she appears to have gone missing.
The 2.77 rating shocked me because the writing style is fantastic and Mabry did a great job writing an unlikable but relatable heroine. Apart from the somewhat surreal atmosphere and, I guess, slightly anticlimactic ending, the unlikability is the only thing I saw that would even slightly warrant a rating like this. And even so, I feel like I can think of similar titles that didn't elicit a reaction like this.
Personally, I fell in love with this author's writing after reading TIGERS, NOT DAUGHTERS, and knew I would have to read everything else she ever wrote. The MEXICAN GOTHIC comp is honestly fairly on-point, maybe with a dash of SADIE by Courtney Summers. If you're into raw and visceral young adult books, with fierce girls and a hint of tragedy, you'll probably love this book.
