From debut author Charlene Allen comes a captivating YA contemporary mystery and coming-of-age story, celebrating the power of friendship, first love, and exploring the criminal justice system from the lens of restorative justice. Perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, and Maureen Johnson.

In the game of life, sometimes other people hold all the controls. Or so it seems to VZ. Four months have passed since his best friend Ed was killed by a white man in a Brooklyn parking lot.

When Singer, the man who killed Ed, is found dead in the same spot where Ed was murdered, all signs point to Jack, VZ’s other best friend, as the prime suspect.

VZ’s determined to complete the video game Ed never finished and figure out who actually killed Singer. With help from Diamond, the girl he’s crushing on at work, VZ falls into Ed’s quirky gameiverse. As the police close in on Jack, the game starts to uncover details that could lead to the truth about the murder.

Can VZ honor Ed and help Jack before it’s too late?

This book was quite a ride and ended up being so much more than I originally thought it would be. It is an excellent debut, with amazing writing and an engaging story that tackling real world issues.

I found the characters very engaging and their stories to be very compelling, which really drove the story forward for me. The murder mystery aspect was engaging at the same time as being a very serious story components. There are a number of subplots that are sprinkled in, most were good contributions to the story but perhaps there could have been a little more focus on the main aspects of the story and less subplots.

I feel like the discussions of loss, the criminal justice system and especially racism were well handled and written and very important conversations to have. All in all I would definitely recommend this book as it’s a fantastic read.

Happy reading!

Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.

It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.

Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.

She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?

Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, Breakup From Hell will keep you hooked until the last page.

I found this to be a really fun title to pick up, it was super fast paced and entertaining. I do love a paranormal romance, so I thought this was a good concept for a YA paranormal romance.

I did want things to be developed a little more than they were, while the fast pacing was great, there were moments when it was too fast paced and things were a little too instant. That being said I did enjoy the characters overall, especially Mica, but wanted a little bit more.

Overall it was an enjoyable read that was a lot of fun and I found it super easy to read, but I would have liked a little more depth to make it even better.

Happy reading!

Sixteen-year-old Sayers Wayte has everything—until he’s kidnapped by a man who tells him the privileged life he’s been living is based on a lie.

Trapped in a windowless room, without knowing why he’s been taken or how long the man plans to keep him shut away, Sayers faces a terrifying new reality. To survive, he must forget the world he once knew, and play the part his abductor has created for him.

But as time passes, the line between fact and fiction starts to blur, and Sayers begins to wonder if he can escape . . . before he loses himself.

Wow, talk about a roller coaster of trauma. This book is chock full of it and really is very multifaceted. I did not like Saye at the beginning, which worried me since this was my first Robin Roe book, but as I moved through the story I came to understand while he was portrayed the way he was. This is a story of his trauma, but also his healing, finding out who he is and where he fits after experiencing the trauma that he went through. While this book is a pretty long read, it was hard to put down and kept hold of me all the way.

While there were definitely a lot of moments in this story that were hard to read, but overall it was an amazing story. Saye isn’t the only character that has depth, but many of the side characters did as well. Do keep in mind that this is a trauma filled story, if you’re not able to handle stories of kidnapping, torture, abuse, sexual assault, death and more – tread carefully and be mindful that this story goes very dark.

Happy reading!

After Kiran Noorani’s mom died, Kiran vowed to keep her dad and sister, Amira, close. Then out of the blue, Amira announces that she’s dating someone and might move cross-country with him. Kiran is thrown.

Deen Malik is thrilled that his older brother, Faisal, has found a great girlfriend, even if it’s getting serious quickly. Maybe now their parents’ focus will shift off Deen, who feels intense pressure to be the perfect son.

When Deen and Kiran come fact to face, they silently agree to keep their past a secret. Four years ago–before Amira and Faisal met–Kiran and Deen dated. But Deen ghosted Kiran with no explanation. Kiran will stop at nothing to find out what happened, and Deen will do anything, even if it means sabotaging his brother’s relationship, to keep her from reaching the truth. Though the chemistry between Kiran and Deen is undeniable, can either of them take down their walls?

From the premise of this book I thought I would definitely enjoy it, but I didn’t know just how much I would enjoy it. I would definitely label this one as coming of age in a way, as Deen and Kiran grapple with each other in present day while also dealing with their own issues. The flashbacks to their past relationship definitely flesh out the background of their story and lays a foundation for their characters in general. I especially loved the way the ‘I hate you in person but we’re best friends online without knowing’ trope was used. It’s always fun when it’s done the right way and in this story I felt it really was done the right way. Definite trigger warnings in here for drug use, death of a parent and grief. Also, the writing style was so easy to read and made the book just fly by as we follow Deen and Kiran through their hijinks and journey.

It All Comes Back to You comes out tomorrow, September 14th – so make sure to pick up a copy. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book for review!

Happy reading!