Teenage Reads

Review: The Art of Loves and Lies

Synopsis:

Manchester, England, 1857

Rosanna Hawkins is one of Manchester’s finest artists, even though no one knows her name. She reproduces “parlor versions” of classic masterpieces with near-perfect precision, which her employer then sells to the emerging upper-middle class families of Manchester.

When the largest art exhibition ever to be held in Manchester opens, Rosanna attends, excited by the chance to sketch such famous works. When she meets the handsome Detective Martin Harrison, who is head of security for the exhibition, she is immediately intrigued by his charm, confidence, and canvas-worthy good looks. The two spend many a flirtatious afternoon exploring the exhibition hall, discussing art and sharing their secret hopes. Rosanna dreams of painting something original and meaningful, and Martin hopes to one day shed the shadow of his father’s notorious past.

The couple’s blossoming summer romance takes a strange turn when Rosanna recognizes her own works on display in the exhibition hall. Someone is stealing paintings and replacing them with her parlor version reproductions. When the evidence casts suspicion on her, Rosanna must convince Detective Harrison of her innocence and proposes a plan to capture the real art thief.

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#The Art of love and Lies #Rebecca Anderson #book review

Review: Toxic

Synopsis:

One A has been captured…but the most dangerous A of all is still out there in the penultimate installment in Sara Shepard’s #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series.

High school seniors Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna barely survived their most recent encounter with A. And it’s not over yet…. The police don’t believe there’s another, deadlier, A out there, but the girls know what-and who-they saw. If they don’t track down this final tormentor soon, A will silence them forever.

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#Toxic #Pretty Little Liars #Sara Shepard #book review

Review: We Ship It

Synopsis:

This rom-com debut has the fierce girl energy of the movie  Booksmart,  blended with the awkwardness of Kelly Quindlen’s  Late to the Party,  topped with a thrilling international meet-cute a la  Love and Gelato. Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded. And the plan is a perfect SAT score, a prestigious college, and a straight path towards her dream of becoming a doctor. The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago. Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have  fun… But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she  thought  she understood, and the future she’s always planned.

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#We Ship It #Lauren kay #book review

Review: The Last Lecture

Synopsis:

A lot of professors give talks titled ‘The Last Lecture’. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave, 'Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams’, wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humour, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

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#The Last Lecture #Randy Pausch #book review

Review: Empire of Dust

Synopsis:

In Macedon, war rises like smoke, forbidden romance blooms and ancient magic tempered with rage threatens to turn an empire to dust.

After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat.

Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt.

The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon’s undoing.

And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor.

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#Empire of Dust #Blood of Gods and Royals #Eleanor herman #book review

Review: A Court of Wings and Ruins

Synopsis:

FEYRE WILL BRING VENGEANCE.

She has left the Night Court - and her High Lord - and is playing a deadly game of deceit. In the Spring Court, Tamlin is making deals with the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees, and Feyre is determined to uncover his plans. But to do so she must weave a web of lies, and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As mighty armies grapple for power, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords - and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

BUT WHILE WAR RAGES, IT IS HER HEART THAT WILL FACE THE GREATEST BATTLE.

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#A Court of Wings and Ruin #A Court of Thorns and Roses #Sarah Maas #book review

Review: Howl’s Moving Castle

Synopsis:

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

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#Howl's Moving Castle #Diana Jones #book review

Review: Deadly

Synopsis:

Deadly, the fourteenth volume in Sara Shepard’s YA Pretty Little Liars series, delivers more juicy scandals, dark secrets, and shocking plot twists. This #1 New York Times bestselling series is also a hit ABC Family original TV show.

High school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have all done horrible things—things that would put them behind bars if anyone ever found out. And their stalker “A” knows everything.

So far A has kept their secrets, using them to torture the girls. But now A’s changed the game. Suddenly the girls are hauled in for questioning, and all their worlds begin to unravel. If A’s plan succeeds, Rosewood’s pretty little liars will be locked away for good… .

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#Deadly #Pretty Little Liars #Sara Shepard #book review

Review: The Wife Upstairs

Synopsis:

Meet Jane. Newly arrived in Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie­ Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie—not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past—or his—catches up to her?

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#The Wife Upstairs #Rachel Hawkins #book review

Review: Inferno

Synopsis:

Dante’s Divine Comedy, and in particular “Inferno”, is a masterpiece of world literature. The fearsome journey recounted in “Inferno” is told by a pilgrim - the poet himself - who meanders through the increasingly macabre landscape of Hell. He meets and often recognizes the various inbaitas of the hellish circles and witnesses theri straggly befitting punishments.

It is a spiritual allegory without comparison: at once a voyage of self-discovery and a revelation of the divine.

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#Interno #Dante Alighieri #book review