Little White Lies (Debutantes, #1) – Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: 2018
Publisher: Freeform Books
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Family Drama, Sisterhood, Secrets, Romance

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REVIEW:

I was right to be excited to read this book. I love a good scandal. I love high society. I love watching powerful people struggle to keep up appearances even if us common folks can easily see right through them. It’s all so pitiful and addictive.

Girls Like Us – Randi Pink

Girls Like Us by Randi Pink

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: October 29th, 2019
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Pregnancy, Sisterhood, Feminism

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REVIEW:

This is the emotional tale of four girls who must each deal with unplanned pregnancies. It’s also a scary story, because it takes place during the summer of 1972, before abortion was decriminalized. It’s also scary because abortion is still such a controversial topic in the United States and it is not, still today, legal everywhere. Pro-choice and Pro-life debates are still very present and the author wrote this book to show how history manages to repeat itself, like the circle of life.

The Good Luck Girls – Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: October 1st, 2019
Publisher: Tor Teen
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Adventure, Feminism, Dystopia, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Sisterhood

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REVIEW:

This story will intrigue many people and there’s a reason for that. It’s a mash-up of different genres and themes: historical fiction, dystopia, western, adventure, action, sisterhood, romance, fantasy. You’d think the result would be a mess or a really complex plotline that one cannot make heads and tails of but actually the author manages to explain everything well and ease us into the world-building without dumping every information on us in the first chapter.

The Grief Keeper – Alexandra Villasante

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: June 11th, 2019
Publisher: Putnam
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, LGBTQIA+, Sisterhood, Immigration, Romance, Slow Burn, Psychology

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REVIEW:

This is a beautifully-written and touching story about two sisters seeking asylum in America to escape death threats. Marisol would protect her younger sister Gabi at all costs so she agrees to become part of an experiment that has as aim to relieve someone from negative feelings by donating them to a recipient (Marisol).

Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life

Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna & Barbara Bush

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: October 24th, 2017
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Nonfiction, Memoir, Family, Siblings, Sisterhood, Coming of Age

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REVIEW:

This is what I like to read about: Family members loving each other and caring about each other and being there for each other. It simply warms my heart. You often see ‘‘perfect’’ families in movies, and it’s true no such thing exists, but you can have glorious bonds with those you are related to, that I am sure of.

Grace and Fury – Tracy Banghart

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: July 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Pacing: Normal/Slow
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Feminism, Sisterhood, Action, Rebellion

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BLURB:

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison. Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace – someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir’s eye, it’s Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding. Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

Seafire – Natalie C. Parker

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: August 28th, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Pirates, Action, Adventure, Revenge, Loyalty, Family, Sisterhood, Feminism, Romance

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BLURB:

After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, whose lives have been turned upside down by Aric and his men. The crew has one misson: stay alive, and take down Aric’s armed and armored fleet. But when Caledonia’s best friend and second-in-command just barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether or not to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all…or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?

Review: The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: April 26th 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 16+
Pacing: Painfully Slow
Genres & Themes: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Rape, Sisterhood

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BLURB:

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.

In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…

Review: Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin

Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: August 30th 2016
Publisher: S&S/Atheneum
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Illness, Family, Sisterhood, Music, Romance

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BLURB:

Three sisters struggle with the bonds that hold their family together as they face a darkness settling over their lives in this masterfully written debut novel.

There are three beautiful blond Babcock sisters: gorgeous and foul-mouthed Adrienne, observant and shy Vanessa, and the youngest and best-loved, Marie. Their mother is ill with leukemia and the girls spend a lot of time with her at a Mexican clinic across the border from their San Diego home so she can receive alternative treatments.

Vanessa is the middle child, a talented pianist who is trying to hold her family together despite the painful loss that they all know is inevitable. As she and her sisters navigate first loves and college dreams, they are completely unaware that an illness far more insidious than cancer poisons their home. Their world is about to shatter under the weight of an incomprehensible betrayal…

Review: Wildwood Dancing (Wildwood, #1) by Juliet Marillier

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: January 23rd 2007
Publisher: Knopf
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fairytale Retellings, Twelve Dancing Princesses, True Love, Magical Creatures, Hidden World, Sisterhood

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BLURB:

High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It’s an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle’s hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.

But their peace is shattered when Father falls ill and must go to the southern parts to recover, for that is when cousin Cezar arrives. Though he’s there to help the girls survive the brutal winter, Jena suspects he has darker motives in store. Meanwhile, Jena’s sister has fallen in love with a dangerous creature of the Other Kingdom–an impossible union it’s up to Jena to stop.