Book Review: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

 Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Thank you to Puffin Books and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.

Such Charming Liars follows main character Kat, all her life it has just been her and her mother Jamie except for the 48 hours where Jamie was married and she had a step-brother Liam.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief working one last job before going straight. That last job being a massive heist at a billionaires mansion where Kat has found a way to tag along. The last two people they expect to see are Liam and his father who is a scammer with his sights set on Ross's daughter.

When a Sutherland dies on site the night of the party Kat and Liam are thrown together trying to get out of the killers crosshairs. They can't trust anyone except each other. Or can they as the one thing they have both learnt is how to lie.

Another strong YA mystery thriller from McManus that leaves you guessing and then second guessing right up until the end.
The books plot is incredibly smart and well thought through right up until the end. I was a fan of the multiple perspectives we were given from both Kat and Liam throughout the story. However for a trained from a young age thief Kat does make a fair few mistakes that leave you thinking why. I get it it drives the plot.

The characters were all fleshed out really well and you came to a understanding for most of them how they are where they are with the background they have had.

Overall a fantastically crafted YA mystery thriller. A joy to read and I can't wait to read more from Karen M. McManus. 

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: Ami by S. Jae-Jones

 Ami by S. Jae-Jones

Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book for an honest review.

Ami is the second book in the Guardians of the Dawn series by S. Jae Jones.

I read and enjoyed the first title but did feel that I wasn't necessarily the age demographic for these books. However I was still will to give the sequel a go out of interest for the story and for the Sailor Moon vibes.

Ami has always been on the outside whether that be in friendships or in family. She has devoted her life to books and knowledge as they are easier to read than people. She is taking care of her mentally ill father in the morning realms though this proves challenging when he is arrested for stealing a sacred branch and she must offer up her scrivener services to the castle to someone named Beast to translate a forbidden mythical text to find a cure for the blight that is affecting the land.

Meanwhile Jin Zhara our main character for the first book is travelling across the land to find Amis father Li Eur Shan to help find one of the missing passages of the sacred text and defeat the mother of demons. However she needs the Guardian of Wood to do so. Could Ami's strange powers hold more of a purpose?

I really enjoyed this book once I got into the story it was fun, had a lot more action than the first book and we got perspectives from multiple new characters which was interesting and added to the plot.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Beast and Ami in this book though I found Zhara and Han's dynamic lacking. It seemed almost like they took the chemistry out of the first book and his character possibly being asexual was a twist that I wouldn't have seen from the first story.

I did however enjoy that the good looking giggles was mentioned less this irked me in the first story so much.

Ami's character was really interesting and she had lots of growth throughout the story I was glad we got to see her story through as well as her growth.

The world building I this book was interesting and added so much to the story. The boom is clearly aimed at YA readers however this one had more draw to me than the first one. Maybe it's the sailor moon parallels I did really enjoy seeing those throughout the story.

Overall a fun book for YA readers and sailor moon fans!

Thanks For Reading!