From My Notebook #4: Book Review - The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

When I read I write notes, thoughts, and quotes about the book in a notebook. I sometimes write drafts or full book reviews in my notebooks too. And sometimes I forget to write up a review from those notes. Or sometimes I would forget to type up and/or post those reviews. So From My Notebook will be the notes, thoughts, quotes, or full reviews that I had in one of my notebooks from other the past years that I forgot to share before. 

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer 
(Mara Dyer #2)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Length: 528 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
Release Date: October 23, 2012
Source: Paperback
Read: May 2015

The truth about Mara Dyer's dangerous and mysterious abilities continues to unravel in the New York Times bestselling sequel to the thrilling The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.She can't. She used to think her problems were all in her head. They aren't. She couldn't imagine that after everything she's been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. She's wrong. In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

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*This is the second book in a trilogy, so this review may contain possible spoilers for the first book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. This is your warning, if you haven't read the first book, then proceed at your own risk of any possible spoilers.*

From My Notebook #1: Book Review - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

When I read I write notes, thoughts, and quotes about the book in a notebook. I sometimes write drafts or full book reviews in my notebooks too. And sometimes I forget to write up a review from those notes. Or sometimes I would forget to type up and/or post those reviews. So From My Notebook will be the notes, thoughts, quotes, or full reviews that I had in one of my notebooks from other the past years that I forgot to share before. 

Book Review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Read: May 2015

A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann

Title: A Drop of Night

Author: Stefan Bachmann
Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Release Date: March 15, 2016
Source: e-galley via Edelweiss
(I was part of the blog tour hosted by Irish Banana Tours. Thank you to both: Irish Banana Tours & Greenwillow Books!)

Seventeen-year-old Anouk has finally caught the break she’s been looking for—she's been selected out of hundreds of other candidates to fly to France and help with the excavation of a vast, underground palace buried a hundred feet below the suburbs of Paris. Built in the 1780's to hide an aristocratic family and a mad duke during the French Revolution, the palace has lain hidden and forgotten ever since. Anouk, along with several other gifted teenagers, will be the first to set foot in it in over two centuries.
Or so she thought.
But nothing is as it seems, and the teens soon find themselves embroiled in a game far more sinister, and dangerous, than they could possibly have imagined. An evil spanning centuries is waiting for them in the depths. . .
A genre-bending thriller from Stefan Bachmann for fans of The Maze Runner and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods.
You cannot escape the palace.
You cannot guess its secrets.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: Wink Poppy Midnight

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Dial Books
Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Magical Realism
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Source: ARC (won from Book Blogger Erin Arkin on Instagram. She blogs at Fiction Fare. Thanks, Erin!)

Every story needs a hero.Every story needs a villain.Every story needs a secret.
Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.
What really happened?Someone knows.Someone is lying.

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***I won an ARC of this book from a giveaway. This does not change the way I view this book.***

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Title: Need
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you, HMH Books for Young Readers!)
Read: November 2015

"No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better."
Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature. 

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams

Title: Ruthless
Author: Carolyn Lee Adams
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Source: e-galley via Edelweiss (Thank you, Simon Pulse!)

A spine-tingling debut about the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse in reverse as a teen struggles to retain hope—and her sanity—while on the run from a cunning and determined killer.
Ruth Carver has always competed like her life depends on it. Ambitious. Tough. Maybe even mean. It’s no wonder people call her Ruthless.
When she wakes up with a concussion in the bed of a moving pickup truck, she realizes she has been entered into a contest she can’t afford to lose.
At a remote, rotting cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ruth’s blindfold comes off and she comes face-to-face with her captor. A man who believes his mission is to punish bad girls like Ruth. A man who has done this six times before.
The other girls were never heard from again, but Ruth won’t go down easy. She escapes into the wilderness, but her hunter is close at her heels. That’s when the real battle begins. That’s when Ruth must decides just how far she’ll go in order to survive.
Back home, they called her Ruthless. They had no idea just how right they were.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***

Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty

Title: Lock & Mori
(Lock & Mori #1)
Author: Heather W. Petty
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Retelling, Crime
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Source: e-galley via Edelweiss (Thank you, Simon & Schuster!)
Read: September 2015

In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students, one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James "Mori" Moriarty, meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.
Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more.
FACT: Someone has been murdered in London's Regent's Park. The police have no leads.
FACT: Miss James "Mori"Moriarty and Sherlock "Lock" Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.
FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.
FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock's one rule--they must share every clue with each other--Mori is keeping secrets.
OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can't trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***

Tangled Webs by Lee Bross

Title: Tangled Webs
(Tangled Webs #1)
Author: Lee Bross
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Classification: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you, Disney Hyperion!)

London, 1725. Everybody has a secret. Lady A will keep yours—for a price. This sumptuous, scandalous YA novel is wickedly addictive.
Lady A is the most notorious blackmailer in the city. With just a mask and a gown to disguise her, she sweeps into lavish balls and exclusive events collecting the most valuable currency in 1725 London—secrets.
But leading a double life isn't easy. By day Lady A is just a sixteen-year-old girl named Arista who lives in fear of her abusive master, Bones, and passes herself off as a boy to move safely through the squalor of London's slums. When Bones attempts to dispose of his pawn forever, Arista is rescued by the last person she expects: Jonathan Wild, the infamous Thief Taker General who moves seamlessly between the city's criminal underworld and its most elite upper circles. Arista partners with Wild on her own terms in the hopes of saving enough money to buy passage out of London.
Everything changes when she meets Graeden Sinclair, the son of a wealthy merchant. Grae has traveled the world, has seen the exotic lands Arista has longed to escape to her whole life, and he loves Arista for who she is—not for what she can do for him. Being with Grae gives something Arista something precious that she swore off long ago: hope. He has promised to help Arista escape the life of crime that has claimed her since she was a child. But can you ever truly escape the past?

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: The Fixer
(The Fixer #1)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you, Bloomsbury!)

This thriller YA is Scandal meets Veronica Mars.
Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.
And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.
Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Heist Society, readers will be clamoring for this compelling teen drama with a political twist.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

Title: The Devil You Know
Author: Trish Doller
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Classification: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley
Read: May 2015

Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it's just the risk she's been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions. 
A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

Title: Charlie, Presumed Dead
Author: Anne Heltzel
Length: 272 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you HMH!)
Read: May 2015

In Paris, family and friends gather to mourn the tragic passing of Charlie Price—young, handsome, charming, a world-traveler—who is presumed dead after an explosion. Authorities find only a bloodied jacket, ID’d as Charlie’s. At the funeral, two teens who are perfect strangers, Lena Whitney and Aubrey Boroughs, make another shocking discovery: they have both been dating Charlie, both think Charlie loved them and them alone, and there is a lot they didn’t know about their boyfriend. Over the next week, a mind-bending trip unfolds: first in London—then in Mumbai, Kerala, and Bangkok, the girls go in search of Charlie. Is he still alive? What did their love for him even mean? The truth is out there, but soon it becomes clear that the girls are harboring secrets of their own. 
No one knows whom to trust in this thrilling tale of suspense and deception.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt

Title: Hold Me Like a Breath
(Once Upon a Crime Family #1)
Author: Tiffany Schmidt
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Classification: Young Adult, Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Retelling
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you, Bloomsbury!)
Read: April 2015

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.All Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

Title: Scarlett Undercover
Author: Jennifer Latham
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Little Brown Books For Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Paranormal
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Source: ARC via the NOVL Newsletter 
(Thank you, NOVL!)
Read: March 2015

A voice-driven mystery perfect for fans of Veronica Mars.
Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic, kick-butt, Muslim American heroine, ready to take on crime in her hometown of Las Almas. When a new case finds the private eye caught up in a centuries-old battle of evil genies and ancient curses, Scarlett discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the situation than she thinks -- and that cracking the case could lead to solving her father's murder.
Jennifer Latham delivers a compelling story and a character to remember in this one-of-a-kind debut novel.

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***I received an ARC of this book from the NOVL Newsletter in exchange for an honest review***

Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

Title: Liars, Inc. 
Author: Paula Stokes
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller
Release Date: March 24, 2015
Source: ARC (won giveaway from author, Thanks Paula!)
Read: February 2015

For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.
Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?
When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.
Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.

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***I won an ARC from an author giveaway. This does not change the way I view this book.***

Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers

Title: Inherit Midnight
Author: Kate Kae Myers
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thanks Bloomsbury!)
Read: January 2015

The Competition:
Outlandishly wealthy Grandmother VanDemere has decided to leave her vast fortune to the family member who proves him or herself worthiest-by solving puzzles and riddles on a whirlwind race around the globe, from the mines of Venezuela to the castles of Scotland. There will be eight competitors, three continents . . . and a prize worth millions.
The Players:
Seventeen-year-old Avery is the black sheep of the VanDemere clan, the ostracized illegitimate daughter. Finally, she has a chance to prove herself . . . and to discover the truth about her long-lost mother.
Marshall might be Avery's uncle, but there's no love lost between the two of them. He's her main competition, and he'll do anything to win-including betray his own children.
Riley is the handsome son of Grandmother VanDemere's lawyer. As the game progresses, Avery falls hard for Riley. Suddenly, losing the game might mean losing him, too. 
As the competition takes treacherous turns, it becomes clear there can only be one victor. Who can Avery truly trust? And is winning worth her life?

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***I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir

Title: Suspicion

Author: Alexandra Monir

Length: 368 pages

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Classification: Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery

Release Date: December 9, 2014

Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you so much Random House/Delacorte Press!)

Read: November 2014

Mysterious. Magnificent. Creepy. Welcome to Rockford Manor. "There's something hidden in the Maze." Seventeen-year-old Imogen has never forgotten the last words her father said to her seven years ago, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family's English country manor. Haunted by her parents' deaths, Imogen moves to New York City with her new guardians. But when a letter arrives with the news of her cousin's untimely death, revealing that Imogen is now the only heir left to run the estate, she returns to England and warily accepts her role as duchess. All is not as it seems at Rockford, and Imogen quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind the mansion's aristocratic exterior, hinting that the spate of deaths in her family were no accident. And at the center of the mystery is Imogen herself--and Sebastian, the childhood friend she has secretly loved for years. Just what has Imogen walked into? Combining a fresh twist on the classic REBECCA with a spine-tingling mystery and powerful romance, SUSPICION is an action-packed thrill ride.

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***I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Game by Barry Lyga

Title: Game (Jasper Dent #2)

Author: Barry Lyga

Length: 520 pages

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Release Date: April 16, 2013

Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you Little Brown!)

Read: September 2014

Billy grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.” I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent. In an effort to prove murder didn’t run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case. And now, when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz’s door asking for help, he can’t say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple–and its police force–running scared. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer’s murderous game. 

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***I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

***This is part of a series. There will be spoilers of things that happened in the other book(s) so if you haven't read it and don't want to know things that happened, please stop reading now.*** 

Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osbourne

Title: Mummies in the Morning
(Magic Tree House #3)

Author: Mary Pope Osbourne

Illustrator: Sal Murdocca

Length: 65 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Classification: Children's Book, Chapter Book, Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery, Time Travel

Release Date: August 1993

Source: Paperback

Jack and Annie don't need another mummy. But that's what they get when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to ancient Egypt. There they meet a long-dead queen who needs their help. Will Jack and Annie be able to solve the puzzle, or will they end up as mummies themselves? 

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I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Title: I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent #1)

Author: Barry Lyga

Length: 359 pages

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Classification: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Crime

Release Date: April 3, 2012

Source: e-galley (Via NetGalley)

Read: August 2014

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad? Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say. But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view. And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod. In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows? 

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***I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Mini Review: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

Title: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

Author: April Henry

Length: 224 pages

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Release Date: June 11, 2013

Source: e-book (purchased)

Read: July 2014

“Take her out back and finish her off.” She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her. And that she must run. In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive. 

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