Tag: Massachusetts

Reviews

Review: Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus

I'm All Booked Up YA

Brynn Gallagher never thought she’d have to return to Sturgis, Massachusetts, her dumpy hometown. But when her dad tells her they’re moving back, Brynn and her sister Ellie realize they have to attend to Saint Ambrose School, a local private school where Brynn’s favorite teacher was murdered four years ago.

To help her journalist career, Brynn applied for an internship at Motive, a true crime network. When she pitched the idea that the show covers her former teacher, William Larkin, she never suspected for her superiors to go for it. But now that Brynn is back, she’s determined to know the truth. Three students found Mr. Larkin, including Brynn’s former best friend Tripp Talbot.

Continue reading “Review: Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus” →
Then and Now

Review: Nantucket Summer by Leila Howland 

I'm All Booked Up YA

This book review is part of our then and now series, where we revisit books that we enjoyed in the past.

Nantucket Summer is a collection, which includes Nantucket Blue and Nantucket Red, by Leila Howland. We first read this duology in the summer of 2017 and haven’t read it since. We were in the mood for a cute romance set near the beach, thus we chose a collection set on Nantucket.

Continue reading “Review: Nantucket Summer by Leila Howland “ →
Lists

Karen McManus’s YA Books Ranked

I'm All Booked Up YA

If you read our blog, you know we love Karen McManus’s YA books and have read all of them. She is one of our auto-buy authors and we can’t wait to read more of her mysteries/thrillers. We plan on updating this post when McManus releases her next book! Are you a McManus fan? Let us know your rankings in the comments!

1. The Cousins

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah Story have never met their grandmother. Years ago, she disinherited their parents and cut off all contact. Out of the blue, she sends them letters inviting them to stay at her resort on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. Only, it’s a lot more complicated than that. When they arrive on the island, nobody seems to expect them. Their grandmother keeps them at arms length, but the more time the cousins spend on the island, the more they learn about their family secrets. 

Continue reading “Karen McManus’s YA Books Ranked” →
Lists

Kara Thomas’s YA Books Ranked

I'm All Booked Up YA

Kara Thomas is one of our favorite authors. She writes exciting, chilling and gripping YA mysteries/thrillers. We’ve ranked her one series and four standalone books below. We’ll continue to update this post when Thomas releases new books. If you want to learn more about Thomas, check out our interview with her from summer 2021.

1. The Prep School Confidential series

13411546

The Prep School Confidential series is reminiscent of Gossip Girl but with murder. It’s easily our favorite from Thomas so far. Anne Dowling loves her privileged life in NYC— until she burns part of her school down and gets shipped off to a preppy boarding school in New England. Right after she arrives, her roommate is murdered and Anne finds herself pursuing the mystery.

Continue reading “Kara Thomas’s YA Books Ranked” →
Lists

Our Favorite YA Books of 2021

I'm All Booked Up YA

It’s almost the end of the year, which means it’s time to go through our books for the year and name the top 10! Remember, these are books that were released in 2021. While technically The Cousins released in December 2020, it was our January 2021 book club pick and Goodreads included in its 2021 reader’s choice awards. 

Do you do a top books of the year list? Let us know in the comments! Maybe some of our favorites made your list too.

1. The Cousins by Karen McManus

49757149

As one of our first reads of 2021, The Cousins did not disappoint. Karen McManus has become one of our automatic buy authors since her mysteries always keep us on the edge of our seats. Everyone in out book club enjoyed McManus’s writing style, character development and twisty plot. The Cousins follows Aubrey, Jonah and Milly Story as they meet their grandmother for the first time on a mysterious island off the coast of Massachusetts. If you like complex family dynamics and dark plot twists, this book is for you.

Continue reading “Our Favorite YA Books of 2021” →
Reviews

Review: The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith

I'm All Booked Up YA
Amazon.com: The Secret Circle: The Complete Collection: The Initiation and The Captive Part I, The Captive Part II and The Power, The Divide, The Hunt, The Temptation eBook : Smith, L. J.:

Happy Halloween everyone! To celebrate this time of year, we decided to reread one of our favorite series about witches: The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith. We read the original trilogy: The Initiation, The Captive and The Power. While we love the other three books: The Divide, The Hunt and The Temptation, they were actually written later by ghost writer Aubrey Clark. We decided to stick with the original books to get us into the Halloween spirit.

Continue reading “Review: The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith” →
Reviews

July 2021 Mini-Reviews

I'm All Booked Up YA

There’s a theme for our July mini-reviews: college admissions!

Review: Admission by Julie Buxbaum

53029025. sx318 sy475

Chloe Wynn Berringer cannot wait to start college in Southern California, close to where she grew up. Everything in her life is perfect: her best friend, hot boyfriend and wealthy lifestyle. 

Then one morning she’s greeted by the FBI, who arrest her mother for allegedly being involved in the college admissions scandal. Everything in her life falls apart overnight. No college, her friends ignore her and her parents spend every day with the best legal team money can buy. 

Continue reading “July 2021 Mini-Reviews” →
Reviews

Review: The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

I'm All Booked Up YA
53138022

*We received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Nobody believes Terra. She’s become the girl who cried wolf of Dayton, Massachusetts. 

Continue reading “Review: The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz” →
Reviews, Then and Now

Then and Now: The Ivy by Lauren Kunze

I'm All Booked Up YA
7786516

The first of a four book series, The Ivy focuses on Callie Andrews’s first semester at Harvard. Lauren Kunze, with her friend Rina Onur, started this series while students at Harvard. They refuse to admit how much of the plot actually happened. 😉

Continue reading “Then and Now: The Ivy by Lauren Kunze” →