Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor

Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor
Series: Prep School Confidential, #1
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: July 30, 2013

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne couldn't care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

The best way to describe Prep School Confidential would be intense. It was intense from beginning to end. But sadly, intense doesn't mean that I loved it. I liked it's extremely action driven plot, but I found the characters to be a tad lacking.

Anne herself was alright, if a tad complicated. She was really very smart, and I liked that she was as tempestuous as me. What really bothered me was the lack of development of the secondary characters. I would have liked to have known more about all of them, and for them to have had a few more appearances throughout the story. I feel like the mystery is ruled a little too much by Anne. We're limited through her vision, because all we get are her opinions. Plus she has a bit of a tendency to jump at every twig, if you catch my drift.

The mystery itself was well done, though. There were so many clues, but they all pointed to different people, which kept the story interesting and entertaining. Towards the end it became obvious, though.

My biggest problem was probably that Isabella (the murdered gal) didn't get to live longer in the story. She seemed like a nice type, which is why it was so disappointing to find out what she was really like. You'll never guess, believe me. This school has more secrets than a cat.

All in all, Prep School Confidential was a charming, if underdeveloped beginning to what I hope will be an awesome series. Gotta love open endings, y'all.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland
Series: N/A
Source: Traded for
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: May 7, 2013

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

At that moment it seemed that all our feelings were shimmering above us, around us, in a new and stunning constellation.

The first third of Nantucket Blue kind of annoyed me. Not to say that the book itself wasn't good, because it was, but the first third was just chock full of drama. It was all about friend issues and just general brattiness. I wanted to strangle Jules, and poor Cricket had her own little annoying things going on. I wasn't even sure that I even liked Cricket at all until all that was passed.

It just took up too much space in the book, in my opinion. I admire Cricket's personality, though. She didn't let these things hold her back, and she tried really hard to be there for Jules.

Cricket herself wasn't all that awesome of a character. She was just a good one. Her actions are what made her great-- without them she's just mediocre. Thankfully, she makes some great friends on Nantucket that really broke the ice for me. Liz was so great and care free, and she made everything so light and fun! I also loved the jokes that she would make, and how she wanted to find a nice "bloke" for Cricket. She was sweet.

Mostly, my big problem with Cricket is that I just couldn't relate to her. I can't think of one thing that makes her like me, and I look for that in characters.

On another note, though, I really liked the romance. It was so sweet and innocent. I was cheering for them the whole time. Especially with the age difference thing-- I'm so proud that for once the guy was younger than the girl! It's not a dynamic that we see very often in YA, but it happens a lot in real life.

All in all, Nantucket Blue is worth a read, just for the romance dynamics. But I enjoyed it. ;)

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

For whatever reason (there's none I can come up with right off) Truly, Madly, Deadly is destined to live in my memory as a mediocre book. It's disappointing, sure, but there's not a thing I can do about it.

I just couldn't identify with our main character, Sawyer. She's being stalked and threatened, and when she goes to the police, she's too afraid to tell them. So she comes out of the police office no better protected than when she went in. Speaking of, the actions of the killer didn't really make sense. I can only assume that the killer is supposed to come off as maniacal and crazy, but it could have been better done. I am really proud that it took me so long to figure it out, but once I did, I realized how dense I am...all signs pointed right to 'em.

I also thought that the suspense seemed forced and faked. There was too much going on for me to ever really get immersed into the story. The other problems included just funky stuff, so I'm not even going to mention them. It's just not for me, you know?

All in all, Truly, Madly, Deadly just didn't work out for me. The plotline was intriguing, but the execution was sadly lacking. I wish I could have liked this one a bit more.