Chuyển đến nội dung chính

The Secret

Reviews | April 2019

April started off as a really good reading month, but ended up not being so great towards the end because that's when I went into a reading slump that I couldn't really get out of it. I spent this month trying to catch up to my Goodreads goal so I read a lot of shorter books. It would've worked out if I kept it up but unfortunately, life had other plans. But, reviews! Reviews Bossman by Vi Keeland I don't know what it was about this book that didn't do it for me. I really thought this was going to be another one of those steamy books I love, but for the most part, it was okay. I think the past vs. present story line wasn't something I really enjoyed. While I get that the author was trying to show the tragic past of the male protagonist, I felt like it was dragged on too long. It could've been told as a prologue and then I would've felt more attachment seeing his side of the story as well. I found this to be a little predictable and overall meh in the sex...

Review | Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Chairapotra & Dhonielle Clayton


Title: Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton
Series: Tiny Pretty Things #1
Genre: Young Adult
Publication: May 26, 2015 by HarperTeen
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

Thoughts: I really had no idea what this book was really about, because I usually borrow audio books from the library by how familiar or interesting the cover looks to me, but I am glad I picked this one up. I've seen Tiny Pretty Things described as Pretty Little Liars meets Black Swan and that is pretty accurate. Following the point of view of three very talented, and very competitive ballerinas, we are introduced to Gigi, Bette, and June and their world where they attend a very prestigious ballet school and compete for the most coveted roles. 

Gigi is the new girl who lands the lead role in the Nutcracker; Bette has been the best for years, trying to be as great as her sister was; June works hard at perfecting her dancing but has yet to land a leading role, so her mother threatens to take her out of the school. Each of the girls has a secret, as well, but they are willing to go to great lengths to keep those secrets safe, while struggling to be the best ballerina in the school. Not only do they compete in their dancing roles, but they also have personal conflicts that make their issues more difficult. These girls could be pretty awful to each other, but the mystery on who was doing some of these things kept me very interested in the story.

I am glad I grabbed an audiobook copy of this instead of reading the book, because the story was told in alternative point of views, but it also helped emphasize the diversity of the girls. Gigi is black, Bette is white, and June is half-Korean, so the different narrators made it easier for me to know who's POV we were following, and made each character more unique. 

The story does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, so I was left feeling surprised. The sequel was recently released and I am definitely looking forward to diving into this story again soon. 


Nhận xét

Popular Posts

Review | Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Title: Forbidden  by Tabitha Suzuma Series: N/A Genre: YA - Contemporary Publication: June 28, 2011 by Simon Pulse Format: Hardcover Source: Purchased Rating:  ★★★ Synopsis:  Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As de facto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: A love this devastating h...

Review | Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

Title: Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist Series: N/A Genre: Contemporary Publication:  January 3, 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Format: Audiobook Source: Library Rating: ★★★★★ Synopsis:   On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right? As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditi...

Love of Reading November BOTM \\ The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

NOTE  →   I recently joined a Goodreads group in which a new book is chosen every month. I thought it would be a fun idea (for myself) to answer the discussion questions, instead of writing a review, on the book we read each month here on my blog. That way I can share my thoughts on it, but also discuss it with others across a few platforms without having to write two things. These posts may contain spoilers. Proceed with caution.  Synopsis: A vivid and mesmerizing novel about the extraordinary woman who married and worked with one of the greatest scientists in history. What secrets may have lurked in the shadows of Albert Einstein’s fame? His first wife, Mileva “Mitza” Marić, was more than the devoted mother of their three children—she was also a brilliant physicist in her own right, and her contributions to the special theory of relativity have been hotly debated for more than a century. In 1896, the extraordinarily gifted Mileva is the only woman studying physics at a...

Free $100