Last Wednesday, Indonesia held our presidential elections. This is my second time voting and the experience is much different from my first time. When I voted five years ago, I’d been living abroad for four years, have no first-hand experience of what it’s like to live in Jakarta for more than three months a year, and wasn’t very up-to-date with political news at the time. Everything I knew about politics I knew through the people around me; my parents, my relatives, and a few of my friends who cared about politics.
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In Another Life by C.C. Hunter |ARC Review & Excerpt – Blog Tour
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books for sending me the ARC of In Another Life by C.C. Hunter in exchange for an honest review.
In Another Life by C.C. Hunter
What would you do if your whole life was a lie and learning the truth could cost you your life?
From New York Times bestselling author of the Shadow Falls series comes C. C. Hunter’s new YA thriller about a girl who learns that she may have been kidnapped as a child, and must race to uncover the truth about her past before she winds up a victim.
Chloe was three years old when she became Chloe Holden, but her adoption didn’t scar her, and she’s had a great life. Now, fourteen years later, her loving parents’ marriage has fallen apart and her mom has moved them to Joyful, Texas. Starting twelfth grade as the new kid at school, everything Chloe loved about her life is gone. And feelings of déjà vu from her early childhood start haunting her.
When Chloe meets Cash Colton she feels drawn to him, as though they’re kindred spirits. Until Cash tells her the real reason he sought her out: Chloe looks exactly like the daughter his foster parents lost years ago, and he’s determined to figure out the truth.
As Chloe and Cash delve deeper into her adoption, the more things don’t add up, and the more strange things start happening. Why is Chloe’s adoption a secret that people would kill for?
Review
There’s something eerie about In Another’s Life’s synopsis that I was drawn to it right away. The story follows the story of Chloe Holden who was adopted when she was three years old. She then moved to Joyful, Texas after her parents’ separation and she had to start new in this new city with her mum. In her new school, she met Cash Colton, who tried to get close to her. Turned out that Cash sought her out because she looks like his foster parents’ long-lost daughter. Cash is convinced that she’s their daughter and wanted to find out the truth. Chloe, on the other hand wasn’t convinced at all until she started to remember little details, she started to realise that there are things that don’t add up.
Although I was intrigued by the synopsis, I still read the book with a degree of skepticism. Based on my experience reading mystery/thriller books, when you start a book with high expectations, chances are certain aspects of the book will disappoint. Fortunately, In Another Life was a great read.
You’re wrong about me not liking you. I thought you were beautiful from the time you slammed into me and spilled my slushie. And you did slam into me. Then I saw who you looked like and I tried not to think you were beautiful. But it didn’t work. Then I got to talking to you and you were funny, and smart, and still beautiful and I couldn’t help but like you. The only reason I didn’t kiss you first was because I was scared it could get messy with what I was about to tell you. And it did get messy. But I still like you. And I want to kiss you again. And again.
There are many different tropes presented in this book. Cash and Chloe’s budding romance, Chloe being her mum’s main caretaker, Chloe’s fight with her dad, and put the adoption mystery on top of it – so many things are going on and somehow C.C. Hunter made it work. I love that she could make the stories flow effortlessly and her characters to develop well. The mystery aspect only appear on the later half of the book, though. While I could still feel the suspense and mystery in the book, it still felt like a primarily YA book. For some reason, the romance and family issues take centre stage in the book for me. Despite all that, In Another Life was truly an enjoyable read.
In Another Life is my first C.C. Hunter book but it made me want to read more of her books. I actually requested the book from NetGalley and didn’t get it. However, I got an email few weeks later informing me that I was given the chance to receive the ARC as I’ve read books from Wednesday Books previously. Also, if you are curious about the book, you can read the excerpt below. Once again, thank you St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books for introducing me to a wonderful author!
ARC Review: Roam by C.H. Armstrong
I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
Roam discussed the issue of homelessness in a very real way. In every page, you can feel the heaviness and struggle Abby and her family faced in being homeless.
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The Towering Sky (The Thousandth Floor #3) by Katharine McGee | Book Review
The Towering Sky is the last audiobook I listened to in 2018 and it was a great one to end the year! I’m a massive fan of the previous two books; The Thousandth Floor and The Dazzling Heights so to say I was excited for this book was an understatement.
Storyline wise, the book picked up right after the event in The Dazzling Heights. The story is written just like how it was in the first two books; divided into 5 POVs – Avery, Leda, Watt, Rylin, and Calliope. I have to say that the first half of the book were pretty much a summary of what happened to each character. The story only started to pick up in the second half of the book.
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Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review
I started the first day of 2019 with Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I’ve read a few reviews last year but decided to pick this up after one of my favourite bookish podcasts, Bad On Paper, picked this book for their podcast book club. It didn’t disappoint!
If you are into Pretty Little Liars, I think you’d enjoy Little White Lies a lot. The story itself follows the story of a girl named Sawyer Taft who received a visit from her grandmother and offered to join the world of high society that her mother left behind. Driven by her curiousity to find her father, she left behind her mother and her job as a mechanic to be part of the debutante season. What comes next is Sawyer navigating this new world and all its secrets.
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ARC Review: The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
If you are looking for a book to read for this Christmas holiday, The Enchanted Sonata is the answer to your prayer. Based on the beloved Christmas story, The Nutcrackers, with a little bit of The Pied Piper thrown in it, The Enchanted Sonata delivers a twist to the story of Clara and The Nutcracker.
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Oh, You Went To An All-Girls School?
If my life had an FAQ page, these two questions would definitely make the list. From 7th grade to the first half of 9th grade, I attended an all-girls school. The reason was because it was one of the best school in my city and plus, I’ve already attended its elementary school so where else would I go?
My 12 year old self was nervous. Beyond the usual first day of school questions like “Am I going to make friends?”, one particular question that I had in mind was “Will there be any mean girls?”. Growing up, the representation of female relationships in the media, be it in movies I watch and books I read, are always complicated. Female friendships are often depicted as full of catfights and backstabbing going on which leads me to that question in the first place. So imagine how surprising it was for me when I realised that girls tearing each other down at every corner might be a fantasy.
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ARC Review: The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lyn Curtis
I received an ARC of The Leading Edge of Now from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book will be released on September 4th 2018 by Kids Can Press
Trigger warning: sexual assault/rape (not graphic but repeatedly mention)
Right after I finished reading The Leading Edge of Now, I knew writing a review for this book is not going to be easy.
A little warning, you may get impatient at the beginning of this book because the book started out slow, like really slow. However, I thank my lucky star that I didn’t stop reading. The story picked up it pace once we know what happened to Grace.
In the span of two years, Grace lost his father to heart attack and placed in foster care after she was sexually assaulted by her boyfriend, Owen. She was unable to tell anyone anything about that night because she was ashamed and plus Owen is her best friend’s older brother.
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