This Monstrous Thing ~ Mackenzi Lee (earc) Tour Review + Quote + Cast [@themackenzilee @the_FFBC @harperteen]

This Monstrous Thing
Katherine Tegen Books
September 22, 2015
384 pages
(links after review - following book trailer)

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

After reading A Fatal Likeness a book about the book Frankenstein and the life of its author, I loved reading a book that sort of flipped that and gave us an idea of how something Frankenstein-like could have happened.

I liked Alasdair Finch from the first line of This Monstrous Thing ("My brother's heart was heavy in my hands."). He's the good, younger son: helping his father, minding his mother. But he's also keeping a potentially (very) dangerous secret: his brother Oliver is not as dead as his family believes. Unable to lose his brother, Alasdair brought Oliver back to life. 

Only it doesn't seem to be the same Oliver.

The blending of Oliver's struggles - his guilt, his uncertainty, his ambition - and the anti-Clockwork climate of Geneva work really well together. It makes his keeping Oliver hidden away easier to explain, to rationalize.

I liked the politics of this sort of steampunk nineteenth century Geneva. Why there are all of these people, men especially, in need of clockwork additions/repairs/replacements to different body parts was intelligent and creative. It gives Alasdair and Oliver's story a richer backdrop and creates a much fuller story.

It isn't only Alasdair's trouble deciding what's right in regards to Oliver, his future and Alasdair's future; it is all part of a much bigger picture.

The mix of real, factual history (surrounding Frankenstein) and its inclusion in the imagined history was done incredibly well. Things that didn't actually happen present fantastic, believeable explanations/basis for things that did, actually, happen

I really loved the progression the characters took, in their relationships with each other but also who they were and what we knew of them, how they saw themselves and where the novel left them. He questions the story - and characters - pose about what constitutes a 'monster' and what makes a man good are thought provoking and well illustrated.

Other Books You Might Also Enjoy: A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd and Ilusionarium by Heather Dixon

digital review copy received, via Edelweiss, from publisher

Robert Sheehan as Alasdair Finch

Aidan Turner as Oliver Finch

David Kelly as Bronson Finch

Ed Begley, Jr as Dr Geisler

 Emily Browning as Clemence

FAVORITE QUOTE

"The fight in him that I had once admired had been transformed from glowing and bright into something you could fall and cut yourself on, and that was what was left of him - a man I didn't know who wore his ill-fitting skin and spoke in his voice. My brother, obliterated by himself." (arc, 10%)

Follow the This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Mackenzi Lee holds a BA in history and an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults. She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently lives in Boston, where she works as a bookseller and almost never reanimates corpses. Almost.

Blog Tour Prize Pack (US ONLY):

One winner will receive...

A hardcover copy of THIS MONSTROUS THING 

A pair of Frankenstein socks

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THIS MONSTROUS THING postcards, bookmarks, and buttons

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Mechanica ~ Betsy Cornwell (earc) review [@betsy_cornwell @HMHCo]

Mechanica
Clarion Books
August 25, 2015
320 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

Mechanica is a creative and imaginative fairy tell re-imagining. It is clearly the Cinderella tale being retold but it isn't a point-by-point retelling, either. I loved that some characters have different roles in Betsy Cornwell's novel, or events happened differently or with different outcomes or significance.

Nicolette and her life with her stepmother and stepsisters is familiar enough that if you love the Cinderela tale, you'll enjoy the similarities. Yet, it's also original enough - her mechanical talents and all that comes with/from that, where the story goes - to keep you guessing a bit and entertain readers not as fond of the fairy tale.

Nicolette - Mechanica to the Steps - is not a helpless girl, tormented by her new 'family' and dreaming of a prince come to save her. In Mechanica she is a girl who doesn't have it easy, she does have to work, work, work for her 'family' and is treated unfairly. It's her dreams of the future, her goals for herself where Mechanica differs from Cinderella, and what is so much fun about Mechanica. She isn't waiting to be saved, she's working on how to save herself.

I liked that there was friendship and romance in the story. Through the characters and her relationship with them, we learn quite a bit about Nicolette/Mechanica. The addition of the fae and the (as far as I know) original lore surrounding them as an excellent layer to Nicolette's world and the story.It is not a faery story, but the existence and knowledge of the fae does play a part in Mechanica's society and with Mechanica's inventions.

I did feel like the novel - the characters, their decisions, the world and its rules and customs - was leading to a slightly different ending than we got. Almost as if things were there for an ending that really would have challenged convention and (maybe) been a bit more shocking, but was toned down and made more acceptable, understandable. While I may be wrong about all of this, it did feel like a different ending was coming and I rather wish it had. I did not dislike the ending Mechanica has, it just felt like it was playing it safe.

(How's that for trying not to be spoilery!)






digital galley received, through NetGalley, from publisher for review

Rebel Mechanics ~ Shanna Swendson (earc) review [@ShannaSwendson @MacKidsBooks @fsgbooks]

Rebel Mechanics: All is Fair in Love and Revolution (Rebel Mechanics #1)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
July 14, 2015
320 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

A sixteen-year-old governess becomes a spy in this alternative U.S. history where the British control with magic and the colonists rebel by inventing.

It’s 1888, and sixteen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family—but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister—but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family’s life. She soon realizes she’s uniquely positioned to advance the cause—but to do so, she’ll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.

I don't want Rebel Mechanics to be over. True, it is the first in a series so it's not over over . . . I like alternate history books, steampunk and historical fiction so this was a great blend and I loved it.

I loved our introduction to Verity's character. It was not only something exciting and out of the ordinary, but immediately gives readers a good sense of who she is. Sure, there are masked bandits on the train which could be dangerous, but she focuses more on the excitement of it all.

She is a well educated young woman, in a time where girls did not always get that sort of education, and plans to put it to use as a governess. After landing herself a job, it's not the children or their education that are Verity's most pressing concern. Employed by one of the wealthiest and most influential magister (those who can do magic) families, Verity is in a prime position to help the rebels.

Except that the job will put her (and her primary job, as governess) in danger. But friends, which she's rarely, if ever, had and a boy she may be falling for are hard to pass up.

Verity's involvement with the rebels starts amazingly but also believable. As she - and we readers - see more of what they oppose and why, she becomes more sure that aiding them is the correct thing to do.

Only the magisters she works for don't seem nearly as evil or uncaring as she's supposed to believe they are. I adored the family she works for, Henry and Olive, especially. They were nicely done characters and I really cannot wait to see what happens with Olive as the series progresses and we (hopefully) get to see her get a bit older.

Some of the other characters were not as well developed as I might have liked. It does make sense when balancing the characters and relationships with the action and world building, but I wanted to know more about them. I get that Verity likes them, likes who they are to her, but I wanted to see more of who they were to really see why.

Some of how the story all came together and was resolved were more obvious and easy to guess than others, but I think they worked. Even if you know some of what's to come, you don't know it all -- and it's an incredibly readable book. You'll be turning the pages as fast as you can to see what happens, who does - and is - what and where it all ends.

Then, if you're like me, you'll be eagerly awaiting Book Two's release.





Another Book You Might Also Enjoy: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Illusionarium ~ Heather Dixon (earc) review [@GreenwillowBook @HarperTeen]

Illusionarium
Greenwillow
May 19, 2015
368 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from TBD/or Amazon

From the author of Entwined, a brilliantly conceived adventure through an alternate London. This sweeping, cinematic tale of an apprentice scientist desperate to save his family—and his world—is The Night Circus meets Pixar.

Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that is breathtaking and wholly original.

Illusionarium is a bit like the magical parts of Trial by Fire meets Alice in Wonderland.

The King has come, asking Jonathan's father, the renowned scientist to cure a disease. Not just any disease, it has been felling women across the kingdom and now the Queen is ill.

It doesn't matter that his father has been working tirelessly in search of an antidote already, the King demands he find the cure now. No matter the cost.

The King's desired methods pose their own risks - as does even his and the Queen's trip to their port  - but Jonathan and his father have few choices in the matter. When the illness strikes closer to home, Jonathan is willing to do whatever it takes, regardless of the dangers.

Soon, he finds himself introduced to a whole new world - literally and figuratively - with more threats and danger than he imagined. When he finds out the cost, will her still be willing to do whatever it takes?


Illusionarium is such a great mix of magic, danger, steampunk and alternate worlds, family, love, and loyalty. The world(s) created are well imagined and creative, but it's the characters, their parts in the world(s) and their reaction to them that really make the book.

Jonathan is a lovable character. He'll soon be off to university, but he still admires his father, loves him mother and younger sister and isn't very good at handling himself around girls. He's sweet, he's maybe a bit awkward and all that he is willing to do, all that he's forced to do really show us (and Jonathan, himself) who he is.

The secondary characters that Jonathan (and readers) meet along the way do not, at first, seem like they're going to be such an integral part of the story. It's their growth, the development of each of them and their stories that make them such enjoyable characters as well as very necessary parts of the journey.

Even the characters I didn't like for significant parts of the novel are ones the story couldn't do without.

The more we learn of the magic, the danger, and how it all comes together,t he more you worry for Jonathan . . . and hope for him. Illusionarium is a standalone and wraps up nicely, but I can't help but hope there'll be another trip into its worlds - and with its characters - someday.








review copy received from the publisher

Waistcoats & Weaponry ~ Gail Carriger (earc) review [@lbkids @GailCarriger]

Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
November 4, 2014
304 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

** my reviews of Finishing School #1 and #2 **

Class is back in session... Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style--with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspected what--or who--they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

Gather your poison, steel tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing installment in the New York Times bestselling Finishing School Series by steampunk author, Gail Carriger.

After the first two books in the Finishing School series, a YA spin-off of the Parasol Protectorate series, readers are familiar with the main characters, their Steampunk Victorian London and the supernaturals that inhabit it. Now that Sophronia is enrolled in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, learning to be an intelligencer, readers have been along on her exploits and adventures and the question is what trouble Sophronia will be a part of next.

Now that we have learned about the vampires, werewolves, mechanicals, and Pickleman it's time for their alliances, their dislike of each (some of) the others to impact things again.

All Sophronia plans to do is get Sidheag back to Scotland, to her pack. It is not a school - or adult - sanctioned trip but they foresee no true danger. When they find a train to stowaway on, it seems luck may be with them.

Until it's discovered who's train it is and just what sort of mess Sophronia, Dimity, Sidheag, Felix, and Soap have found themselves in. Even more than her training from Madame Geraldine's may be necessary to get them all out of this safe and sound.

The humor, wit and originality that I loved in the first two books is once again present here. It is set in Victorian era England and I really enjoy the varying ways the different characters adhere to the social norms of the time - or don't, as the case may be. The expectations around gender, class, race, age all play into the story very well. With some added ideas about the vampires and werewolves.

It still feels like the story and characters fit in the period, without being as restricted as that might mean.

I especially appreciated that, along with the external struggles, Sophronia faced some internal dilemmas  She was presented with several different things that forced her to examine decisions she's made, how she's seen and interpreted things. On more than one subject.

That fantastic mix of danger, intrigue, humor, and characters I love more and more adds up to a book you don't want to miss. (Though I do recommend reading the first two books first as you should more enjoy the character interactions and relationships then.)

After Waistcoats & Weaponry's ending, I cannot wait to read the fourth and final book of the series, Manners & Mutiny, currently due out next year.








review copy received thanks to publisher, via NetGalley

The Girl with the Windup Heart ~ Kady Cross (earc) review [@HarlequinTEEN @AlterKates]

The Girl with the Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles #4)
Harlequin TEEN
May 27, 2014
400 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

**contains some spoilers for earlier Steampunk Chronicles books**
my reviews: Book 1 / Book 2 / Book 3

In 1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin.

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

The Girl with the Windup Heart is a prime example of hating to see a series come to an end, but loving how it does. After the previous three books (as well as the novellas), the characters have all been introduced and are now, properly, part of the group and the story. From Griffin, Finley, Emily and Sam to Jasper, Wilcat, Mila and even Jack, they all have a role in The Girl with the Windup Heart.

Even as they work to solidify - or, perhaps, still figure out - their relationships, threats still loom. Mila is attempting life (mostly) like a human girl, under Jack Dandy's care. It's how that should all work, along with their differing views of how she should be treated, that inadvertently cause a rift.

Determined to strike out on her own - and to prove something to Jack - Mila is soon out in a world she still doesn't full understand.

All while Griffin and those at Greythorne House face another battle with The Machinist.

Everyone's unique talents (they're like a steampunk, less mutanty-y X Men) aid in the attempt to save Griffin and defeat The Machinist. (Though, Jack's skills may be more problem causing than problem solving when it comes to the situation with Mila.)

The Girl with the Windup Heart brings relationships started between different characters, in earlier books, to a new level. Even as things are being drawn together and wrapped up, there is enough action (on too fronts) to give this closer its own story.

As everyone takes place in one last big adventure (at least for us to read about), we see why it is they make such a superb group. Each has their own strengths and their own weaknesses, which play off of the others' very well. Now, its time for them to help each other and really come together as a group.

We get an even better idea of who some characters (namely Jack, Mila, Finley) are and get a sense of where the future might take them all. They did all seem older to me than the characters are supposed to be, something i haven't noticed (or noticed as much) in earlier books. It doesn't detract from the story, simply seems odd when their ages are mentioned as several years less than they seem to act.

You'll likely be sad to see the Steampunk Chronicles end, but won't feel and regrets about how it ended; both the plot and characters are very strong here.


Rating: 9/10






earlier parts of the series:








thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy to review

Curtsies & Conspiracies ~ Gail Carriger (earc) review

Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
November 6, 2013
320 pages
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(Finishing School #1, Etiquette and Espionage review - I don't think synopsis or review below contains spoilers)

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this sequel to bestselling author Gail Carriger's YA debut Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

Sophronia has been been at Mademoiselle Geraldine's - her covert finishing school - for several months now and enjoying it as much as ever. With the characters first introduced to us in the first book of the series, Etiquette and Espionage, back for more lessons and more adventures, there's also more fun to be had.

It doesn't seem necessary to read the previous book before you read Curtsies and Conspiracies as the characters' roles, that general 'what' of the school and anything else crucial is recapped well. Reading it will give a better view of their relationships, past interactions - some of which influence the present and events in C&C - and a make for an all-around fuller story. It's also a fantastic book worth reading.

Admittedly, I never quite got the mystery that Sophronia - and her friends - were trying to unravel this time, not like I would have preferred. I kind of didn't care, though. Everything about her investigation, the work she put into uncovering different bits of the plot, the sneaking around, the subterfuge, even, was all so enjoyable. Along with the information that Sophronia - and readers - gather about the Finishing School world along the way, the school, friendship drama and the new (or newly acknowledged) relationship drama, all makes for a incredibly fun to read, really enjoyable story.

I, still, have yet to read the The Parasol Protectorate series for which this is a prequel/spin-off series, but this book helps give a deeper understanding of the world. How the vampires live, operate, the 'politics,' etc. We were introduced to the characters and the steampunk before with the mechanicals and the dirigible school, now we get more of the society. I liked it.

Some of the characters who have been a significant part of the story from the beginning took on some new roles in Curtsies and Conspiracies. Either literally or in Sophonia's eyes. I'm anxious to see where Book 3, Waistcoats & Weaponry take them. I do hope it's good! I also hope some of the new characters make more of an appearance next book . . . and maybe some of them make less of one.

The Finishing School series is proving to be a series that is great fun to read, one where I cannot wait for the release of the next book.

Rating: 8/10





thank you to LBYR and NetGalley for my egalley for review

Novella Review Roundup

A Dawn Most Wicked
Harper Teen
June 4, 2013
150 pages
add to Goodreads/buy for Kindle/Harper site
Something Strange and Deadly #0.5

Daniel Sheridan is an engineer’s apprentice on a haunted Mississippi steamer known as the Sadie Queen. His best friend–the apprentice pilot, Cassidy Cochran–also happens to be the girl he’s pining for…and the captain’s daughter. But when it looks like the Sadie Queen might get taken off the river, Daniel and Cassidy have to do whatever they can to stop the ghosts that plague the ship.

Fortunately, there happens to be a Creole gentleman on board by the name of Joseph Boyer-–and he just might be able to help them…

This prequel gives us Daniel's back story - or some of it. We meet him while he's working on the Sadie Queen, a haunted Mississippi steam boat. If you haven't read Dennard's first book with his character, you may be lost at the start of this novella. Though it's a prequel, things start out assuming readers know who the character is . . .

A Dawn Most Wicked is listed as number zero point five in the Something Strange and Deadly series, but really it's best as a 'go back and read it after you've read the first book' prequel type of book. It's a good read if you haven't already read Something Strange and Deadly, but it's much better if you already have -- if you know Daniel already and have some interest in him.

Verdict: A Dawn Most Wicked is an enjoyable read. A prequel that assumes readers know the character (ie have read Book 1), it's likely a lot more enjoyable if you've read Something Strange and Deadly but a good story on its own.

(Features a preview of A Darkness Strange and Lovely (#2) at the end.)
Rating: 3.5/5



The Prince
Harper Teen
March 5, 2013
64 pages
add to Goodreads/buy Kindle version/Harper site
The Selection #0.5

Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the Selection...

Before Aspen broke America's heart...

There was another girl in Prince Maxon's life...

Don't miss this thrilling 64-page original novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling novel The Selection. Also features a teaser to The Elite, Kiera Cass's hotly anticipated sequel to The Selection.

After how I felt about The Selection (my review-ish HERE) it may be surprising that I read this at all, but I was curious. And I actually liked it. Told from Maxon's point-of view we get a bit of lead up into the actual start of The Selection and see how he's feeling about the whole thing.

I do feel the synopsis is a bit misleading because it makes it seem as if the novella is mainly about this 'other girl' when really she just seemed to be one part of it, to me. Not a small part, sure but not the story, either.

I did like seeing Maxon as more than just The Prince as well as some of the lead up into the Selection. It made Maxon seem like more of a whole character. I may have to see what I think of The Elite.

While this one has a preview of The Elite at the end, I think it's one that could be read before or after The Selection -- if you've read The Selection you'll understand more but with the different character POV and being set at the start, it's good for those new to things as well.

Verdict: It's nice to see a bit more of who Maxon is here; how he felt going into the Selection. This one can be read before or after Book 1.

Rating: 3.5/5


Playing Keira
Harper Teen
May 7, 2013
40 pages
add to Goodreads/buy Kindle version /Harper site
prequel to You Look Different in Real Life

From a breakthrough voice in YA fiction comes a captivating digital-original short story, starring a supporting character from the novel You Look Different in Real Life.

The premise was simple: five kids living their real lives, with a new movie about them every five years. But that was before Keira’s mother walked out, and the cameras captured every heartbreaking detail for the world to see. Now Keira doesn’t even know what “real life” means – she only knows how to pretend to be herself.

Then she meets Garrett on a bus to New York City. At first, Keira creates a fictional identity and enjoys the freedom of being someone totally different. But as their brief connection turns into something more, Keira starts to see what life could be like if she just stopped pretending and accepted the person she really is.

I adored Jennifer Castle's The Beginning of After so I have to admit to having high hopes for her follow-up - and it's prequel novella.  Lucky for me and I suppose you, Playing Keira completely exceeded all of those expectations.

I loved Playing Keira. It's a fantastic little story all on its own. We're drawn into Keira's story, her journey on the bus and this new persona, this new identity she's creating. All the while wondering both why . . . and what's going to happen at the end of the bus ride.

Playing Keira is a great short story whether it's a prequel or not. Even if you don't plan to read You Look Different in Real Life (which, really, why would you not? But if you don't), do yourself a favor and read this. In, really, just a few pages we meet such a great character and learn so much about her, while still wanting to learn so much more.

There aren't a lot of contemporary novels with prequel novellas (at least, that I have seen) so I was surprised to see this one but so glad I stumbled upon it!

Verdict: A pretty amazing short story prequel or no. Great introduction to the character and some of the story for You Look Different in Real Life.

Rating: 4.5/5