Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie

 This week is a Halloween Freebie and I'm using it to share thrillers in my TBR list.

Have you read any of these?

Book List: Cruel Summer

I just finished the second season of Cruel Summer (recap of the first season).

If you also enjoyed the show, here are some YA book recommendations. 

Girl Forgotten by April Henry

Liar's Beach by Katie Cotugo

Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban (on my shelf to read)

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst

Live Your Best Lie by Jessie Weaver

The Headmaster's List by Melissa de la Cruz 

 

Book List: Criminal Minds (YA)

 

I've been binging Criminal Minds (I'm halfway through the series). It's a LONG series. It's sometimes hard to watch because it's really disturbing but also really interesting. I can't wait it too close to bed because...no one wants those kinds of nightmares.

But I've been thinking about books that are similar. So I made a list. It's YA books because I don't like to be too scared. And YA generally ends happily (the bad guy loses).

YA Book List:

Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Killer Instinct by S.E. Green

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough

The Body in the Woods by April Henry

Not Pictured:

In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund

Dangerous Girls (republished as I'll Never Tell) by Abigail Haas

Pretend She's Here by Luanne Rice

What other books would you add to this list?

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie

 This week's topic is a Halloween Freebie.

I'm going to use a video I made for work about YA Thrillers!

We have a YouTube Channel where we recommend books all the time!

Give us a like or subscribe!

On Your Radar: Girl in the White Van (43)

Title: Girl in the White Van

Author: April Henry

Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Release Date: July 28, 2020

Why It Should Be On Your Radar:

* Creepy

*Thriller

* Family Drama

* Investigation

* Kung Fu Class

* Determination

* Survival 

* Kidnapped

*Teammwork

* Friendship

I couldn't put this book down, but I also didn't want to read it after dark.

** The publisher pushed the dates back on this one. July 28th is the date from Goodreads.

*** ARC sent for review

Library Recommendation: Grab this YA book for your thriller collection. And if you don't have the authors previous books, get them too!

Review: Every Stolen Breath

Lia's father died two years ago and she's the only one stilling trying to uncover the truth about his murder. She knows it wasn't a random accident. Now all she has to do it prove it. But when she's discovered at the scene of the next murder, everyone wants to know why she was there.

She can't tell them that she knew the attack was coming. No one listened to her.

She can't tell them that she's close to uncovering the truth. No one will believe her.

Lia isn't sure who to trust, but she knows she's in danger and that she could be next.

My Thoughts: It took me a little bit for the story to hook me and once it did, I didn't want to put the book down. I felt terrible for Lia as she dealt with grief over her father. Of course she had trust issues. I liked watching her figure out who to trust. I loved her friendships. I loved how she wanted her life to have meaning. I admired the reporter. I enjoyed watching Lia find the strength uncover the truth. Of course, I enjoyed the romance as life does go on even through trauma. There were lots of plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Cover Thoughts: Great
Source: Book sent for review
Library Recommendation: Great for school and public libraries looking for more thrillers

Review: Run, Hide, Fight Back

When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall, a diverse group of teens ends up trapped behind a store’s security shutter. To her own surprise, seventeen-year-old Miranda finds the others looking to her as their leader. But she’s hiding a big secret—and she’s not the only one. The group has only three choices—run, hide, or fight back. The wrong decision will have fatal consequences. When a deadly shooting breaks out in a Portland shopping mall, a diverse group of teens ends up trapped behind a store’s security shutter. To her own surprise, seventeen-year-old Miranda finds the others looking to her as their leader. But she’s hiding a big secret—and she’s not the only one. The group has only three choices—run, hide, or fight back. The wrong decision will have fatal consequences.

- summary from the publisher

My Thoughts: I've been wanting to read this book since I first heard about it with the tagline Die Hard meets the Breakfast Club. I love the Die Hard movies. And this book didn't disappoint, I was hooked form the very beginning. All six characters have a point of view in the story. The action kept me turning the pages and I was on the edge of my seat until I finished. A great thriller.

Cover Thoughts: Love it
Source: My library
Library Recommendation: Grab this one for your school and public libraries.

Author Spotlight: April Henry

About April Henry: 
I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.

If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.

When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine.

My dream of writing went dormant until I was in my 30s, working at a corporate job, and started writing books on the side. Those first few years are now thankfully a blur. Now I'm very lucky to make a living doing what I love. I have written 20 novels for adults and teens, with more on the way. My books have gotten starred reviews, been picked for Booksense, translated into six languages, been named to state reading lists, and won the Oregon Book Award. 

Newest Book: A killer is on the loose, and only one girl has the power to find him. But in this genre-bending YA thriller, she must first manage to avoid becoming a target herself.

For Adele, the dead aren’t really dead. She can see them and even talk to them. But she’s spent years denying her gift. When she encounters her ex best friend Tori in a shallow grave in the woods and realizes that Tori is actually dead -- that gift turns into a curse. Without an alibi, Adele becomes the prime suspect in Tori’s murder. She must work with Tori’s ghost to find the real killer. But what if the killer finds Adele first?

This book comes out tomorrow!

Author Research:
What would you do for research? April Henry takes a hands on approach to her research.
Here are just some of things she's done for her books:

• Taken out everything from under the kitchen sink and crawled under it to prove to the copy editor that you could so fit a dead body under there.  
• Taken a knife throwing class
• Taken a knife fighting class
• Taken a class on how to respond to an active shooter situation. 
• Taken classes with Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue. 
• Was the first novelist to attend the Urban Escape and Evasion class, where I learned how to get out of duct tape, rope, zip ties and handcuffs as well as a million other useful things. 
• Spent a day with Portland police criminologists.  

That's dedication to your craft!

She comes from a long line of criminals - check out the family stories here.

Up Next: I'm already looking forward to her next book coming out August 2019. Check out the tagline: What if the high-stakes drama of Die Hard met the varied cast of Breakfast Club? Doesn't that sound good?

Mini Review: Take the Key and Lock Her Up

 * Book 3 in the Embassy Row trilogy *

Secrets have a way of coming out. Now that Grace knows the truth about her lineage, she's on the run. She's worried about her injured brother. She's worried about her friends. Most of all, she's worried about her future.

And when she's worried, she comes up with a terrible idea for a plan...

Things I enjoyed:
All the plot twists and turns
Danger
Action
Secrets
Royalty
Friendship
Romance
Betrayal
Loyalty
Bravery
Determination

There's so much going on in this last book of the trilogy. I really did like Grace. She was determined to find the answers. Sure she made some bad choices (who doesn't). But she's strong and she's a survivor.

I can't wait to see what Ally Carter writes next!

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommend this series for all YA departments.

Mini Review: Bad Blood

* Book 4 in the Naturals series *

Cassie's desperately trying to uncover the truth about her mother - and what it means for her memories. But the clues lead to dead ends. She's so close to discovering the truth and yet so far away. She and the Naturals are racing against a deadline - can they figure things out before time runs out?

The Good:
Twists and turns
Action
Emotional  Turmoil
The feeling that you can't put this book down
Friendship
Romance
Banter
Family
That Ending!

The Bad:
The series is over BUT it seems like there's room for a spin-off series!

Cover Thoughts: Perfect
Source: Book sent for review
Library Recommendation: This series is a must have for all public and school libraries.

I can't wait to see what Jennifer Lynn Barnes comes up with next!

Throwback Thursday Book Hits: Naturals

If you like thrillers, this is one book series you won't want to miss this series!

Lots of plot twists, danger, friendship drama, banter and romance.

This team went through terrible things, but they're making the best out of life and helping put the bad guys away at the same time.

I read these books in one sitting because they are simply too good to put down.

Give them to teens looking for horror, psychological thriller, or just a really good book.

Plus Bad Blood, the fourth book in the series comes out November 1st. I can't wait!

Teen Book Recommendations for Bourne Fans

Welcome to a new series on the blog of book recommendations for pop culture fans! I'm excited to kick things off!

I'm a HUGE fan of the Bourne movies and I couldn't be happier with another movie out today.

Crossing the Line: An agent stolen returns home to become a double agent - but for which side?

Zero Day: A girl is kidnapped when her father is a Senator, but gets free when he's President. Could she be a traitor?

Fixer: Tess becomes involved in the political landscape of Washington D.C. where she uncovers a conspiracy involving the deaths of her classmates' family members.

Powerless: Kenna's tired of being normal, but when a boy saves her life, she's forced to rethink everything that she knows and everyone in her life.

Killer Instinct: Lane's mother works hunting down serial killers. Lane's gotten a taste of this work and attempts to hider her obsession, but the newest killer finds out and starts communicating with her.

I Become Shadow: Ren Sharpe was having an average day until she was kidnapped.She trained with weapons, survival tactics, and more to  be good enough. Finally she passed the training session and got her first assignment.

I am the Weapon: Boy Nobody shows up, attaches himself, kills someone to make it look natural, and leaves without anyone being the wiser. Except this time.

The Living: A mysterious disease, a sinking cruise ship, and a boy determined to live.

Mind Games: Sisters Fia and Annie do what they must to survive in the hands of the company that uses them as weapons. 

Two Lies and a Spy: When Kari's dad sends the worst text imaginable, she grabs her brother and goes into hiding - like her spy parents taught her. 

Spies and Prejudice: Berry and her BFF are on a stakeout when they meet two boys, one charming and one proud. A picture she snaps on a whim leads her down a path she shouldn't follow.

Also Known As: Maggie's never had a normal life. She travels with her spy parents - helping them break into safes all over the world. On her first solo mission, she must befriend a boy, infiltrate his house, and steal a computer file. 

I'd Tell You I Love You, But then I'd Have to Kill You: Cammie's an awesome spy, but not so awesome when it comes to acting natural around boys. Will she blow her cover in just one night?

.

Cold Fury: When her family's kidnapped, Sara Jane must use her family traits to keep the mob in line.

The Night She Disappeared: Gabie switched shifts at the pizza joint with Kayla. When a mysterious call requests a pizza delivery, Drew doesn't think twice about it. Kayla goes to deliver the pizza and never returns. Gabie realizes that it was supposed to be her.

Heist Society: Kat used to lead a life of danger before she pulled her biggest con ever and walked away from a life of thievery to attend boarding school. Her enrollment last a few months before her old life comes crashing over her plans. Her master thief father needs her help. She makes a deal with the devil, but it will take all her skills to pull of this heist.

Model Spy: After getting caught hacking in to a secure government site, Kelly has a choice - go to juvie or be recruited for a secret government program called the Specialists.

Perfect Cover: Toby Klein would never in a million years be a cheerleader - until they want her. And tell her that one little secret. Cheerleaders are just a cover for spies at Bayport High.

Sure Fire: When their mother dies, Jade and Rich must live with their father - whom they don't know because he's a spy.

Devil's Breath: After he narrowly escapes an assassin at his school, Max learns that his father is missing. He left his son clues and now Max will follow them - no matter the cost.

Traitor: Danny's grandfather was betrayed and deemed a traitor. Now Danny and his grandfather are on the run to clear their family name.

Stormbreaker: When his uncle dies, Alex doesn't believe the reason for his death. In setting out to prove it, he becomes recruited to finish the spy job is uncle died trying to achieve.