Things We Never Got Over - Lucy Score

Title: Things We Never Got Over
Author: Lucy Score
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 483
Date read: October, 2022

Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon. Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way… with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.


I'd heard good things about this book, so was keen to read it when I finally got my hands on it last week. For good reason too, as it turned out. I was immediately taken with the plot, and loved seeing Naomi find her feet in the small town of Knockemout, and slowly but surely winning over the citizens of the town. I especially adored seeing her relationship with Waylay grow, and see Way go from being a cynical, far too mature 11-year-old, to being a child who's secure that she's loved.

A good read that was a lot sweeter than I had expected it to be.

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: The Inheritance Games
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre: YA, Suspense
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 372
Date read: October, 2022

Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why.

Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money.

Now there's only one rule: winner takes all.

Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing. But just how far will they go to keep their fortune?


So good!! Definite "We Were Liars" / "Knives Out" vibes with riddles and cryptic clues added into the mix. I loved every minute of it and could not put it down. There were a few ends that were left a tad too open for me to give it 5 stars, but it came very close, and I'm going to have to hunt down the next in the series.

I got it out of the library, but could definitely see myself adding this to my physical library at some point.

Anak fra Østen - Estrid Ott

Title: Anak fra Østen
Author: Estrid Ott
Genre: Childrens, classic
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 131
Date read: October, 2022

Anak grew up together first with her maternal grandmother and then at a boarding school for girls, while her dad was in the far east. When he finally returns to bring her back with her, they have to get to know each other all over again.


One of my favourite books as a child/young teen, but it couldn't quite stand the test of time. The first half (where Anak and her dad gets to know each other again) is by far the best. The second half is far too rushed (covering almost a year in time, where the first half only covers a few weeks) and at times hard to read from a 21st century POV - but then it WAS written 100 years ago, so it makes sense.

4 stars on Goodreads for nostalgia's sake. Should probably only have had three.

The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman

Title: The Complete Maus (Maus 1-2)
Author: Art Spiegelman
Genre: Graphic memoir, WW2
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 283
Date read: October, 2022

Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in “drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust”.

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.


I know this is considered a classic and one of the best graphic memoirs out there, but I don't know... to me it just fell flat. Both fascinating and heartbreaking to be sure, but I'm not entirely sure I understand neither how it became so acclaimed (other than, perhaps, by virtue of being one of the first of its kind?) nor why it's been banned in so many states. Google tells me it's because of violence... well, duh? It's a book about the Holocaust - how could it NOT be violent???

I'm glad I have read it. But I'm equally glad I got it out of the library rather than buying it for myself.

Where the Drowned Girls Go - Seanan McGuire

Title: Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children #7)
Author: Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 150
Date read: October, 2022

Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.

There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again.
It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.
And it isn't as safe.

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming


Not the best in the series, as I felt it was very slow to get started. I felt like it was just treading water until after Cora had been at Whitethorn for awhile. Once it did get properly started I really enjoyed it though. I actually rather liked that most of the action took place "here", rather than behind a Door.

Two Can Keep a Secret - Karen McManus

Title: Two Can Keep a Secret
Author: Karen McManus
Genre: YA suspense
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 327
Date read: October, 2022

Ellery's never been to Echo Ridge, but she's heard all about it. It's where her aunt went missing at age sixteen, never to return. Where a Homecoming Queen's murder five years ago made national news. And where Ellery now has to live with a grandmother she barely knows, after her failed-actress mother lands in rehab. No one knows what happened to either girl, and Ellery's family is still haunted by their loss.
Malcolm grew up in the shadow of the Homecoming Queen's death. His older brother was the prime suspect and left Echo Ridge in disgrace. His mother's remarriage vaulted her and Malcolm into Echo Ridge's upper crust, but their new status grows shaky when mysterious threats around town hint that a killer plans to strike again. No one has forgotten Malcolm's brother-and nobody trusts him when he suddenly returns to town.

Ellery and Malcolm both know it's hard to let go when you don't have closure. Then another girl disappears, and Ellery and Malcolm were the last people to see her alive. As they race to unravel what happened, they realize every secret has layers in Echo Ridge. The truth might be closer to home than either of them want to believe.

And somebody would kill to keep it hidden.


Not quite as good as the "One of Us is Lying" books, but very close! Same style and it totally lived up to my expectations of being unputdownable (and thus a good book for a readathon). I felt, perhaps, it was somewhat less believable than the other books, which is why I didn't find it quite as good, but it's hard to make YA suspense believable at the best of times, so I'm willing to give it a bit more leeway.

But that final line!!! *gasp* Worth an extra star by itself.

The Midnight Orchestra - Jessica Khoury

Title: The Midnight Orchestra (Mystwick #2)
Author: Jessica Khoury
Genre: Childrens, fantasy
Rating: 3/5
# pages: Audiobook ~9hrs
Date read: October, 2022

Things are finally looking up for Amelia Jones: she's officially a Mystwick student, and she even has a teacher to help her learn how to use her rare Composing magic. When Mystwick enters an international magic competition, it’s Amelia's chance to Compose something that will help them win the day. The only problem is that she still doesn’t understand how her powers work. But then she hears about a super exclusive Midnight Orchestra—half performance, half magical black market—and Amelia is sure that’s where she’ll find the answer to her Composing problem.

But the Midnight Orchestra is far more sinister than it initially appears and if Amelia can’t unlock her Composing powers, not only will Mystwick lose the musicraft competition, she won’t be able to rescue her friends from the danger unleashed in this thrilling adventure.


Unfortunately not nearly as good as the first one. Amelia keeps making bad decision after bad decision, which got really old fast. Some of it made sense, but mostly I just WISH she'd talked to people about her issues, instead of trying to sort everything out herself. It was bound to go wrong.

Also, one of my favourite things about the first book was the way it used background music as an integral part of the story. Yes, it got distracting at times, because I'd be listening to the music rather than the words, but it was charming and worth it! In this book, the background music was much rarer, much lower (an editing decision, I know) and just seemed tacked on as an afterthought. Especially as it often didn't even fit the description - e.g. the words mention an obo, but you could hear strings, or it would talk about being a "lively tune", but the music played was really slow. That was far more distracting - and not nearly as charming - than the music itself had been in the first book.

The book improved as it went along, but I'm not at all sure I'll want to read the next one. A shame - I LOVED the first one.