Sloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.

Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.

Filled with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you needed.


I really enjoyed This Adventure Ends. Sloane was such a breath of fresh air from traditional contemporary YA characters. She didn't take anyone's crap, she stood up for others, yet she was completely at a loss when it came to having friends because for the first time in seventeen years, she had people she cared enough about to make an effort.

The novel only follows a portion of Sloane's senior year, after moving from New York to Florida, in the wake of her father's writing crisis. Unlike most teenagers, Sloane was unaffected by the move and didn't really care either way - due to the fact that she really had no attachments keeping her there. Could you imagine that kind of self enclosure?

So when she meets Vera and Gabe, twins that are like night and day, her world begins to shift. Vera is bubbly, outgoing, and makes everyone feel like they're the only person in the room, while Gabe is surly, and serious, and basically has made it his life's mission never to smile. Through some unfortunate circumstances, a special painting done by Vera and Gabe's mother right before she passed, is sold and Sloane makes it her mission to get said painting back. Without telling them of course.

The characters are what really drew me into this one. I couldn't help but love Sloane. She's witty, has the perfect come back for everything, and honestly thinks about her responses to questions. She ventured into new situations with caution, but didn't guard herself so completely as to not put herself out there. Her family dynamic was interesting, and I liked her relationship with her father.

I gave This Adventure Ends five stars because I laughed - a lot, I cried, and I became emotionally invested in Sloane. Emma Mills did a fantastic job writing this novel and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a contemporary read that's not your typical YA love story, or your typical female lead. It's very refreshing and I hope to read more of Mills' work.

*I received a copy of book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. All eyes are on Flynn—he must know something. After all, he was—is—her boyfriend. They were together the night before she disappeared.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. As he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.


One fall night, January was last seen leaving her private school. She never came home and no one had heard from her since. Not her distant mother, politician step father, psychotic step brother, or even her boyfriend Flynn. While Flynn tries to figure out what happened to January, he’s led down a path of discovery that reveals January wasn’t the person he thought she was, as are none of the other people in her life the way she made them out to be.

Initially I was intrigued by the mystery side of Last Seen Leaving, but as I kept reading it felt like it became two conflicting stories. On one side there was the disappearance of January, and the mystery behind what happened to her – following the clues, and the whodunit, Flynn playing the role of the loyal boyfriend. On the other side is Flynn hiding a giant secret, which inevitably comes out, and to seems to take over the entire narrative overshadowing the plot of previously mentioned missing girlfriend.

Without going into too much detail and giving anything away, basically it began to feel like it was more about Flynn finding himself than January, and dealing with the fallout from the revelations of his personal life than the actual disappearance of his girlfriend, which was not the story I was expecting going in.

Flynn is a likeable character and I sympathized with him for the most part. He was January’s boyfriend and the prime suspect in her disappearance, as usually happens when something like this occurs. It’s understandable that he’s under a lot of stress and he doesn’t necessarily make the wisest decisions.

Much of the time I felt like the author was trying to sell me something, as if he was paid to write product advertising into the book – similar to product placement in television shows. It became obnoxious - constantly mentioning Lexus, smooth rides, and supple leather seats, iPhones, etc, when a simple mention of “we got into his car” would have been sufficient. I don’t know if this is a thing now, but if it is, I’m begging you, please make it stop! It reminded me of when you watch a tv show and they add a whole unnecessary scene with the characters waiting for their new car to back up and park itself just for the benefit of showing the audience *barf*. Give me a break. Books are a place we’re supposed to be safe from that crap! If this wasn’t intentional, I’m sorry to Mr. Roehrig, but this is how it came off. I understand a high level of detail can immerse a reader into the story, but I think there's a line where it can be too much. Last Seen Leaving crossed that line for me.

Overall, I give it three stars, mainly because I felt the story lines were conflicting and it didn't feel like one arc but two. I know some readers will greatly disagree with me, and that's okay! Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood for it, but I wouldn't rule out reading it completely. If you're a fan of mystery, some romance, and some back and forth with the story, give it a shot!

*I received a copy of book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis

In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair…

October went by in a flash! I felt like it was gone in the blink of an eye and I hardly had a moment to sit down. I only managed a few blog posts, but I did get through more books than I had thought, so that’s a plus. Can you believe it’s already November and the holiday season is upon us???


I'm actually pretty surprised I read 9 books in October. I didn't think the number was quite so high until I was putting this list together. Falling Kingdoms was my 100th read of the year! I have officially met my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal for 2016. At this point I'm ultimately going to try for 120 finishes, we'll see if I can make it!