I have been a huge fan of Dana Schwartz’s podcast Noble Blood for a while now. So I jumped at the chance to scoop this title up the minute I saw it on NetGalley.

“A gothic tale full of mystery and romance about a willful female surgeon, a resurrection man who sells bodies for a living, and the buried secrets they must uncover together.

Edinburgh, 1817.

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, the university will allow her to enroll. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books – she’ll need bodies to study, corpses to dissect.

Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living, then.

But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets. Hazel and Jack work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Our protagonist is Hazel Sinnett is excentric, resourceful and independent. She rejects most aspects of the rich high society she is growing up in. Much to the chagrin of her mother, her emotionally distant mother. That compliments Hazel’s physically distant father. Hazel wants to be a surgeon and I loved the drive she had towards making her dream a reality. There are two men in Hazel’s life, Bernard and Jack. Bernard is a childhood friend, who she has been set up to marry basically since birth. Hazel herself describes him as “nice enough.” Jack is a lot more of an exciting character, he is a resurrection man, exhuming the bodies of criminals and selling them to medical students for money. I liked him but I didn’t love him. It felt unrealistic who quickly he would flip flop on who he had romantic feelings towards. I also feel like we did not know him as well as we knew Hazel.
• Setting: The story’s setting is nineteenth-century Scotland, Edinburgh specifically. The setting is very Bridgerton-esque. Staples of the time are in play such as going down to London for the season. With this setting it brings the limited amount of medical knowledge we did know. Much as I expected Dana Schwartz’s work is well researched. There are passages on the medicine of the time and they are really interesting. The medicinal and setting elements were the strongest aspect of this book.
• Pacing: This YA novel is alright when it comes to pacing. The short and quippy chapters are helpful. The vocabulary and writing are sharp. The language is vivid. The issue with the pacing for me was that it took me a long time to get into the story. Once I was in, I had to put a bit of effort in to keep reading the story. Some things in the book felt rushed while other things dragged.
• Romance: I did not buy into the romance in this story. Hazel and Jack had a very insta-love style to their relationship. Jack loved one girl one day and was head over heels with Hazel the next. Hazel kept stringing her betrothed Bernard along. I get why she did, but I was not much of a fan of it. A love story is in the title, so I just wished the romance elements of this book were stronger. I did like their first kiss a lot, I will not spoil it for you but it was a unique setting that made for a unique scene.

Anatomy: A Love Story receives three out of five stars.

Thank you again to Dana Schwartz, Wednesday Book and NetGalley for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I was a huge fan of Alexandra Bracken in my teens, especially The Darkest Minds series. I applied for Lore on a whim on NetGalley never expecting to get it because I am not exactly a strictly YA reviewer. Nonetheless, Disney-Hyperion took a chance on me. So keep that in mind when you read my review, I was a huge fan of her earlier work and I do not read as much YA as I used to.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis…

“From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Lore is the main character of this standalone urban fantasy novel. As an orphan Lore has fended for herself for quite a while, she’s a fighter both physically and emotionally. The story begins in medias res, in the middle of a boxing match she is in. Lore is really Melora Perseous, the last remaining member of the House of Perseus. It is one of many Houses named for famous Greek Heroes and it is these Houses that compete in the Agon. When the Agon occurs the Gods of Olympus walk the earth as mortals and the descendants of the heroes have one week to kill them in order to take upon their powers. The most important God in Lore’s story is Athena, who shows up on her doorstep bloodied and wounded. Athena knows who killed Lore’s family and offers to help Lore avenge their deaths. Castor is the other important character in the story, he was Lore’s childhood best friend and training partner. He has been dead for the last seven years so when he appears at the start of the new Agon it floors Lore.
• Pacing: A lot of the reason why I docked stars from my rating came from this category. I often felt like the pacing was off. When I was invested in the story the book was flying by and then I would hit walls of dense mid-book territory that kept me reading this for days on end. I worry a not as fast reader would really slog through this. So if you love Alex’s work or Greek mythology it may be worth the slog for you. This is not to say that I think the book could have been shorter, the world was so expansive and cool. Such a unique take on Greek myths, something that I loved seeing played around with, in books and fictional worlds. I just wish there were more action scenes and less of what felt like filler in some parts.
• Setting: The story is set in modern-day New York City and it really takes center stage in the story. Lore and her pack of friends galivanting all over the city. Often the city bears the brunt of the damage this Agon is inflicting. Lore really identifies with her home and works tirelessly to protect it.
• Romance: The romance between Lore and Castor is one built on friendship. Lore spends a lot of the book staring longingly at Castor, commenting on his beauty. This is not a major part of the book and that could have been a combo of things. I would not have said it was because it was a YA book because based on Alex’s previous track record she is not scared of writing heart-stopping romance. It may have just been the nature of this being a standalone that not much time could have been afforded to the romance.

Lore receives three out of five stars.

Thank you again to Alexandra Bracken, Disney-Hyperion, and NetGalley for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Alexandra Bracken’s Lore ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Emma Scott is one of those authors for me that hooks me emotionally. I always cry my eyes out while I read her stories. She never ceases to amaze me with how she carefully and thoughtfully she explores issues.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis below…

“At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…

Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice.

Until Violet.

No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back.

Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications.

But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?

Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020″

Check out my more detailed thoughts…

• Characters: Violet and Miller are the main characters of this emotional story. Violet is that girl who is determined, hardworking and with a heart of gold. Her friendship with Miller begins as she is compassionate towards him and the positions he has been put in. I do not want to spoil the aspects of Miller’s life I am referring to instead, I will say that way he navigates them is amazing to read about.
• Setting: The setting is Santa Cruz, California. It lends itself to smaller town, laidback vibes which really complemented the emotional tones of the story.
• Pacing: The nature of this story is that it leans more young adult than new adult based on the way it is paced. There is a small part at the beginning of the story about Violet and Miller as young children. Then at the end, there is a chunk of time at the end of the story post-high school and it was my fave part. I do wish there was more of it but I also do realize that the book is geared towards young adults. So it naturally made sense that the majority of the book focused on their senior year.
• Romance: Violet and Miller have that classic I love the other person so much but I cannot possibly express it. There was some teen angst of course but at the same time, both Violet and Miller were being careful, as they saw their friendship as something beautiful. They saw it as something sacred, and as the book progressed they realized that admitting they were in love with each other would only strengthen their already beautiful relationship.

The Girl in the Love Song receives five out of five stars.

Pick up the story below…

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UdV79C
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheGirlintheLoveSongES

Connect with Emma below…

Amazon author link: https://amzn.to/2yUnFKJ
Webpage: emmascottwrites.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottFB
Reader group: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottEntourage
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottBB
Instagram: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottIG
Twitter: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottTW
Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

The post Emma Scott’s The Girl in the Love Song ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Now here is the cover reveal…

Here is the Goodreads synopsis…

Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice.

Until Violet. 

No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back. 

Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications.  But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?

Enter a giveaway for an Amazon gift card: https://bit.ly/TGITLSCoverGive

Add The Girl in the Love Song to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU

Connect with Emma below…

Amazon author link: https://amzn.to/2yUnFKJ
Webpage: emmascottwrites.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottFB
Reader group: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottEntourage
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottBB
Instagram: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottIG
Twitter: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottTW

Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

Thank you to Emma Scott and Valentine PR for the opportunity to reveal the cover. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog.

The post Emma Scott’s The Girl in the Love Song Cover Reveal appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I first read Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits, almost five and a half years ago and I have been a fan of hers ever since. She is just a master at young adult romance. I have participated in Katie’s bookmark mailouts and I happen to have a few of her books signed as I won a giveaway for a signed copy of Pushing the Limits. I was doing YouTube at the time so I unboxed it on camera and mentioned that my absolute favourite Katie story is Nowhere But Here. Katie McGarry watched my video and sent me a signed copy of the book, she is such a nice person! I was scrolling through NetGalley months ago and requested this on a whim never thinking I would get it. I am so grateful to Tor for providing me with the ARC.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis below…

“Echoes Between Us is bestselling author Katie McGarry’s breakout teen contemporary novel about a girl with everything to lose and the boy who will do anything to save her.

Veronica sees ghosts. More specifically, her mother’s ghost. The afterimages of blinding migraines caused by the brain tumor that keeps her on the fringes and consumes her whole life haunt her, even as she wonders if it’s something more…

Golden boy Sawyer is handsome and popular, a state champion swimmer, but his adrenaline addiction draws him to Veronica.

A girl with nothing to live for and a boy with everything to lose–can they conquer their demons together?”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Veronica and Sawyer are the main characters of this YA romance. Veronica is such a unique character, someone who is so unabashedly herself. Sawyer is the type of character you think you know but in actuality, he is much more multi-dimensional than you would have ever guessed. Both of them though are those classic teens that are being held back by their own limitations and roadblocks, but this story is about them evolving as people.
• Pacing: The story is paced well. I was not initially attracted to it but once I had read the first quarter of the story I was drawn in.
• Romance: Katie McGarry writes young love so well! With every chapter, I fell more love with Veronica and Sawyer’s love. You cannot help but buy into the fierceness that they felt for each other, despite their age and the speed in which it happened.

I give Echoes Between Us four out of five stars.

Thanks again to Katie McGarry, Tor Teen, and NetGalley for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Katie McGarry’s Echoes Between Us ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Here is the synopsis: “Jesse Lachlin is cursed. 

So the town folklore says, but while Jesse’s had his fair share of tragedy, the only curse he believes is in his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year, Scarlett Copeland.

Scarlett Copeland is psychic.

Glory Gardner tells Scarlett she has hidden psychic abilities, but Scarlett thinks Glory is delusional. What is real is Scarlett’s father’s irrational fears, controlling attitude, and the dark secrets at home. Scarlett may have a way to escape, but there’s a hitch: she’ll have to rely on the one person she used to trust, the same boy who broke her heart, Jesse Lachlin.

Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings for each other. But as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…”

And now here is the excerpt reveal: ” SCARLETT

I’m defying my parents by attending a funeral. Reckless and adventurous teenage behavior, I know. Most seventeen-year-olds lie to their parents so they can go on a date with a forbidden boy or attend a party where there will be questionable behavior. Me? I’m outright lying to my dad, and it’s because Jesse Lachlin’s grandmother died. 

The entire way here I’ve questioned my sanity, but I don’t know how I’d live with myself if I stayed home. Jesse Lachlin used to be my childhood best friend. We were inseparable. We had the type of friendship people strive to have, and then, a few years ago, he cut me so deeply that I still bleed. But ten-year-old me would have never abandoned a hurting Jesse. So today I’m not only honoring the memory of Jesse’s grandmother, but also the memory of our dead friendship.

On my way to the funeral, the high grass of the field swats at my legs, but I don’t mind the sting. I love walking barefoot in grass, I love the smell of the earth and I love that brief feeling of freedom open spaces can provide. 

It’s the dog days of August. The type of hot that starts when the sun rises and makes you sweat through your clothes within minutes. While my skin and palms are on fire, the pads of my feet are cool against the dirt. The heat is unwelcome, but the sky is deep blue and the sun is bright, and for that, I can be grateful.

Walking out of the field, I stop short of crossing the one-lane road to slip on the flats that dangle from my fingertips. My mother would be mortified if she knew I was entering a church in a cotton daisy-print sundress. It’s not one of the dresses with stiff fabric and impossible back zippers she would have picked for me at an overpriced department store. It’s the type that’s machine-washable and breathable. The type of dress Jesse’s grandmother would have given her stamp of approval. 

I can practically hear my mother heavily sigh and mumble my name, Scarlett, as if it were her personal, private curse word. Mom believes there’s a certain way to dress and behave, and I’m breaking all sorts of her rules today. Watch out, world. I’m officially rebellious. 

I smile to myself because I’m the opposite of rebellious. For the last few years, I’ve followed every rule. I’m the teacher’s pet and the girl with straight A’s. I’m the poster child of perfection, and have earned every snarky ice princess comment Jesse’s friends whisper about me in the school hallways because he and I no longer speak. 

There are only six cars in the parking lot of the white church, and that makes me frown. I thought more people would have wanted to attend. Jesse’s mud-covered pickup is there, and so is an unnaturally clean black Mercedes that belongs to his uncle. This ought to be interesting. Jesse and his uncle have a mutual hate for each other that runs deeper than any root of any tree. 

Movement to my right and I slowly turn my head. Shivers run down my spine at the sight of Glory Gardner. Even though I’m seventeen and too old for ghost stories, I still can’t shake the ones regarding this woman. Girls would whisper over lunch boxes that Glory was a witch. As I grew older, I understood that witch meant con artist. She claims she can read palms, tarot cards and “sees” spirits from beyond the dead. All for a glorious fee. 

She’s a beautiful woman—long dirty blond hair that’s untamed, even in a bun, and she has an eclectic taste in clothing. Today she wears a white peasant shirt and a flowing skirt made of material that shimmers in the sun. 

Glory watches me like I watch her, with morbid curiosity. I knew her as a child, back when Jesse and I ran wild in the fields near her home, but we haven’t talked in years. 

She stands under the shade of a towering weeping willow. There are lots of those trees around here. Mom says it’s because there is too much water in the ground. I say it’s because the people in this town have cried too many tears. Mom doesn’t like my answer. 

I tilt my head toward the church, an unspoken question if Glory will be joining me. She shakes her head no. I’m not shocked. According to rumors, Glory will go up in flames if she enters the house of God. But who knows? Maybe I will, too. 

The church is one of those picturesque, historical, one-room school buildings squeezed between a cornfield on one side and a hay field on the other. A huge steeple with a bell attempts to reach the heavens, but like anything created by a human, it falls tragically short. 

The foreboding wooden door makes no noise as I open it, and I’m able to slip in without a huge, squeaking announcement. Orange light filters in through the dark stained glass windows, and its struggling beams reveal millions of dancing particles of dust. 

On the altar, there’s no casket, but there is an urn. My heart dips—Suzanne is dead. I used to wish she were my grandmother, and many times, she treated me as if I belonged to her. Suzanne was the epitome of love, and the world feels colder now that she’s gone. 

Choosing a spot in the back, I drop into a pew, and as I scan the church my stomach churns. How is it possible that this place is so barren? 

Besides the Funeral Brigade, or the FB, as I like to refer to them, there aren’t many people here. The FB are the older group of woman who attend every funeral in our small town even if they didn’t know the person. Attending funerals isn’t my idea of fun, but who am I to judge? 

The FB sit directly behind the one person the town believes to be the lone sane member of the Lachlin family, probably because he isn’t blood related—Jesse’s uncle. 

On the left side of the church is Jesse. Only Jesse. And that causes a painful pang in my chest. Where are his stinking friends? The anarchists in training who follow Jesse wherever he goes? Where is the rest of the town? Yes, Suzanne was polarizing, but still, where is any respect? 

Quietly, so I don’t draw attention to myself, I slip from the right set of pews to the left. Someone should be on Jesse’s side, and it’s sad it has to be me. 

A door at the front of the church opens, and the pastor walks out from the addition the church build on as a small office ten years ago. I would have thought any pastor assigned to this place would be as ancient as this church. Sort of like an Indiana Jones Knights Templar scenario where he lives forever as long as he stays inside. But no, he’s the youngest pastor from the main, newer church in town. His name is Pastor Hughes, and he’s a thirty-something black man with a fit build who is just cute enough that he should be starring in a movie. 

The pastor looks up, and he flinches as if startled. I peek over my shoulder then sigh. Clearly, he’s surprised to see me. Flipping fantastic. 

His reaction, and the fact he won’t stop staring, causes every person to turn their heads. Lovely. I’ve had dreams like this where I enter a room and become the center of attention. Only in my dreams it’s at school, it’s my classmates and I’m naked, but still, this is disconcerting. 

Eventually, the FB and Jesse’s uncle return their attention to the front, but Jesse doesn’t. He rests his arm on the back of the pew, and it’s hard to ignore that he’s made me his sole focus, but I do my best to act as if I don’t notice. 

To help, I concentrate on what my mom taught me as a child—to make sure the skirt of my dress is tucked appropriately so that my thighs don’t show. I then fold my hands in my lap and straighten to a book-on-head posture. I can be the ice princess people claim me to be. 

Five pews separate me and Jesse, and it’s not nearly enough. My cheeks burn under his continued inspection. Jesse has done this a handful of times since our freshman year. Glance at me as if I’m someone worth looking at, someone worth laughing with a little too loud and smiling with a little too much. Then he remembers who I am and snaps his gaze to someone else. 

But he’s not looking away now.”

If you want to pre-order this story, check out these links below… Amazon: https://amzn.to/2K4poUy
Kobo:http://bit.ly/2M7Sn7f
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2M6S24K
B-A-M: http://bit.ly/2M2na5h
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2tnkyXZ
iBooks: https://apple.co/2K0iAE4

If you want to keep in touch with Katie, you can at any of these links… Website: www.katielmcgarry.com
Twitter: @katiemcgarry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katielmcgarry
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575371.Katie_McGarry?from_search=true
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/katielmcgarry/
Tumblr: https://katiemcgarryauthor.tumblr.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/katielmcgarry

Thank you for reading and supporting my blog.

The post Katie McGarry’s Only A Breath Apart Excerpt Reveal appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.