BLOGTOBER DAY FIVE: Past Date ARC Mini Reviews

We’ve all been there. First you request “a few” ARCs, then you forget about them. Of course once that happens, the publisher goes ahead and approves them all. So, then you spend the next eternity trying to catch up on all of them, and slowly fall more and more behind. That’s where I am currently, and basically have been since making my NetGalley account 2 years ago. But, since the end of ARC August (wrap up here) I have been making a dedicated effort to consistently cross titles off my list. Here are a few.

The Mall by Megan McCafferty
3/5 stars

So this was not my favorite. I honestly believed it was gonna be a fun time, but it started off rough and didn’t get much better until Drea and her treasure hunt entered the scene. Also, in the first 20 pages they make it really, really clear that it’s 1991. In case you happened to miss the first 25 references? It was just a bit in-your-face for my tastes. As for the main plot of this book, the treasure hunt was not particularly thrilling or intense. It’s more of a thing Cassie does to appease Drea, and occupy her time before she jets off to college at the end of the summer. And It Feels Like It. Even the 90’s mall backdrop was bland and monotonous. Which is terrible since it’s the only setting of the book. The only parts of this book I did like were Drea and Zoe. Drea, because she was the only personality of the book and I really just wanted to succeed. And Zoe, because she was a weird little side character who was just randomly awesome. Maybe it’s my fault for speeding through this book so fast, but it felt lackluster. I guess I was just expecting more summer fun shenanigans. 

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
3/5 stars

Possibly another case of mistaken book identity? For some reason I had it in my head that All the Stars and Teeth was a mermaid book. Like the main characters were mermaid royalty, a la some Ariel ish. Once I picked it up I realized I was very mistaken. It honestly reminded of House of Salt and Sorrow but a boat adventure to other islands instead of sneaking off to magical balls. Unfortunately there was a lot of exposition info dumping, and I heavily considered DNF’ing it. It eventually picked up around 45%. *cough* Right around when the only mermaid in the book entered the cast. Coincidence? I think not. There were also a lot of badly written romantic tropes that I was not a fan of. The words “she doesn’t feel whole with out him” were uttered (and meant literally). There’s also a really bizarre love-triangle-esque situation. Overall, the book was fine, but not satisfyingly in any way. As of right now, I have no plans of continuing the series. Now, where the mermaid books at??

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen
4/5 stars

Late to the Party was an unexpectedly cute, queer contemporary. Kodi and her friends never “experience” anything because they’re the always hiding away in the basement watching Netflix. When Maritza and JaKory decide to change their fate, a reluctant Kodi watches on skeptically. When she’s tugged into their wake, Kodi has an encounter with a popular kid and an unexcepted friendship forms. As the summer goes Kodi begins to experience all the things they’d been missing out on… but without Maritza and JaKory. This book reminded me of the vibe Morgan Matson books have (moderate depth fun contemporary YA). It was really well paced and plotted. I loved all the hangouts with Ricky’s friends, and all the Kodi & Ricky friendship moments. Also, Kodi & Lydia were adorable as hell. On the the other hand, half of the notes I took for this book were just me ranting about how much I disliked Maritza and JaKory. They condescend to Kodi the entire book, and then get mad at her for finding friends who don’t box her into a corner. I also wasn’t entirely satisfied with how quickly she forgave them.

What books are you behind on? 

xoxo, Bree

*Thank you NetGalley & Edelweiss + for providing me with eARCs in exchange for honest reviews.*