Review: Say You Still Love Me

Fact: I will always love whatever K.A. Tucker writes. I've been reading her books for so long now that I can't imagine not falling in love with the characters and world she creates. That might make me a bit biased these days but it's the truth. She is, and always will be, one of my favourite authors (both because of the amazing books she writes and because she's such a lovely person). And because she's a favourite and an auto-read (and usually auto-buy but my wallet usually has more to say about it than I'd like), I knew I'd want to read Say You Still Love Me as soon as I heard about it. So much so that, confession time, I actually had no idea what the book was about before I dove in. And, oh boy, did I ever dive. I didn't want to put it down.

Here's the synopsis:

Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.
On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.
Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.
The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.
Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.

Second chance romances are my favourite (yep, I'm a broken record and you'll continue to hear that from me until I can no longer flail about books) so Say You Still Love Me was right up my alley. What I liked about Tucker's approach to the trope was that the relationship began at summer camp (so, hello, perfect for summer) and it featured characters who were from two very different worlds.

The other thing Tucker did with this novel and the second chance trope was tell it in two time periods. There was a chapter in the present ("Now") and then a chapter from 2006 ("Then") when Piper and Kyle were both counsellors at summer camp. Each chapter moved forward in time and, slowly but surely, the story came together and all the little mysteries (what happened to their friend from camp? Why did they break up?) were solved.

Another of my all-time favourite authors is Sarah Dessen. She writes strictly contemporary YA novels (the only kind of YA I'll read these days and even then only from specific authors) and I've been reading them since I was about 15. Her books often take place in the summer because she sees the season as a transformative one where absolutely anything can happen. Once I got thinking about Tucker's latest and all of Dessen's books, I realized something. Say You Still Love Me is what would happen if Dessen's characters grew up and we got to see what they were up to years after a magical, life-changing summer. No wonder I loved it so much.

Three side notes. The first, I love this cover. Just love it. It reminds me of where I grew up and the docks and trees that are found all over the bay. The second is I'm fairly certain Tucker referenced one of her own books in a very sneaky fashion. Piper catches Kyle reading a thriller and its cover features a blurred person with their palm pressed against a pain of glass. Sound familiar? Third, Kyle changes his last name to Stewart, which was his mom's name. I did the same thing when I turned 18. And the name I changed it to? Stewart.

I'm not sure if this book will get bumped to the top of my favourite of Tucker's books - and I can't quite put my finger on why. I thought it was a unique story (yes, there were tropes but Tucker used them well and put her own spin on it) and the characters were interesting (I loved that Piper was smart and kicking ass in the corporate world) and had chemistry. It was still really, really good though and one I'd highly recommend for the second half of your summer (it takes place in part at summer camp, of course you want to read it in the summer).

Say You Still Love Me is yet another wonderful novel from K.A. Tucker. She knows how to write real, angsty, and interesting novels and I always look forward to them. I'm a bit jealous of all of you who haven't read this one yet because you have such a treat to look forward to. I, on the other hand, am already impatiently waiting for what Tucker writes next!

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: I'll Never Tell

I've been reading Catherine McKenzie's novels for years (eight, as my Goodreads has told me) and I have always marveled at how unique each story is. I eagerly look forward to her next novel as soon as I finish her last. I was especially looking forward to I'll Never Tell after absolutely loving The Good Liar last year (review is here if you missed it). Could her new one live up to her last (which was an instant bestseller, btw)? The short answer is: hell, yes.

Here's the synopsis:

What happened to Amanda Holmes?
Twenty years ago, she washed up on shore in a rowboat with a gash to the head after an overnight at Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with a crime.
Now, the MacAllister children are all grown up. After their parents die suddenly, they return to Camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate it's sitting on. Ryan, the oldest, wants to sell. Margo, the family's center, hasn't made up her mind. Mary has her own horse farm to run, and believes in leaving well-enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the family groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a home when all is said and done.
But then the will is read and they learn that it's much more complicated than a simple vote. Until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can't move forward. Any one of them could have done it, and all of them are hiding key pieces of the puzzle. Will they work together to solve the mystery, or will their suspicions and secrets finally tear the family apart?

This isn't the first novel that features a dysfunctional family and a surprise in a will, and it won't be the last. But it's definitely going to be one that sticks with me for awhile. The MacAllisters are likeable enough (way more palatable than some families), they're just a bit messed up. And who isn't? It's hard to say if they really deserved to be dealing with their father's bizarre conditions even though it's pretty clear one of them is a murderer.

Speaking of murder and whodunnit - I had no idea. Every time the perspective changed with a new chapter (not as jarring as you might think), I changed my mind. Every sibling had motive and opportunity, though a few of them were immediately ruled out. Or were they? Yep. It's a twisted mystery and I loved it.

There's one thing that's been niggling at me since I finished the novel and it has to do with some choices Pete MacAllister made. I can't really say anything more because it's a hell of a spoiler if I do but his reasoning never made clear (not for the surprise in the will, that part was pretty clear). I guess I'm always just looking for more of an "everything wrapped up in a bow" situation than McKenzie was going for, especially for a character who is dead, but I feel like there's way more to him and his motivations than we got to see.

I loved that this books was set at a summer camp. I never went to overnight camp growing up so I don't have the kinds of memories that the campers at Macaw would but McKenzie does have that experience and, through that background and her great writing, I was able to understand what it was like and why the characters may have acted the way they did.

Also, I always thought the cover was so well suited to this novel - and I was very happy that McKenzie wasn't given an obviously feminine cover - but it wasn't until I inserted it into this review that I realized how perfect (and perfectly creepy) it really is.

I'll Never Tell is an amazing follow up to Catherine McKenzie's success with The Good Liar. It's an intriguing, complex, twisted story that she tells so, so well. I may have started reading her books because they were contemporary, fun, and relateable but I'm so happy with the direction she's taken because she's so good at writing thrillers. Pick this one up for your summer vacation!

*A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Whisper If You Need Me

Dina Silver is known for her women's fiction novels but she has recently released her first YA book, Whisper if You Need Me. The contemporary novel was an absolute delight to read and Sarah Dessen fans should take note.

Here's the synopsis:

A strong-willed yet vulnerable young beauty, Julia Pearl is sixteen years old when she’s sent away to summer camp for the first time. Julia’s father and stepmother are convinced that time away from home will be good for Julia, hoping it will restore the confidence she lost when her mother disappeared five years earlier.
Released from the emotional constraints of her new family and the ugly reputation her mother left behind, Julia finds herself reluctantly tossed into the free-spirited and often drama-infused world of overnight camp—where she quickly falls for an intensely charismatic counselor named Jack Dempsey, a nineteen-year-old college student who will prove to save her life in more ways than one.
Rich with humor and poignancy, Whisper If You Need Me is a timeless story that will remind readers of the strength of friendship, the unwavering devotion of family, and ultimately, the power of young love.

My favourite thing about Sarah Dessen novels (yes, I know this isn't a review about one of her books...bear with me here) is that the story is about more than just romance. Sometimes romance doesn't even really factor into the story. The point of the novel is to watch the heroine, a teenage girl, find her way in the world. There is drama, usually of the family sort but not always, and a little something special that hooks you and drags you, quite happily, into the story. Dina Silver has found that little something with her new book. Julia has a lot of stuff to work through...why her mom left, being "forced" to go to summer camp, having a new step-mother and step-siblings, plus a severe nut allergy. And for those, like me, who enjoy the swooning, the first kisses, and the romance, there's some of that too.

The setting played such a huge part in this novel. I never went to summer camp as a kid (the closest I got was a few day school trip to a nearby camp. I think I've blocked most of it out.) so there's a bit of a novelty factor for me. But I think summer camp is perfect for a contemporary YA novel and allows for a bunch of high school kids (and therefore a bunch of drama and angst) to get together somewhere that isn't school. 

The only little teeny thing that bugged me has to do with the age of the characters. Julia is 16, Jack is 19. I just could not see how a guy who's just finished his first year of college could want to date a junior...in high school. I wish Julia had been going into grade 12 instead of 11...I think that would have eased my mind so much more. But really...that was the single thing I had an issue with in this novel.

That being said...oh, the feels I had reading about Julia and Jack. I think the fact that he was older did help because he was able to help her learn to deal with, well, life. And their first kiss? Talk about swooning. It was almost instalove but because they weren't allowed to be together (ooh, forbidden love to boot!) they had the chance to build a friendship first. 

Finally, I liked that Julia was able to make some new friends while at camp. She has to deal with Mean Girls (oh my god, these girls were awful) but between Jack and her new friends, she's able to (usually) ignore the taunts and ridiculous comments and emerge on the other side even stronger than before. 

I could not stop reading Whisper If You Need Me. Dina Silver sucked me in with her riveting, well written story. This is one that all contemporary YA fans will enjoy, especially those who like their heroines strong and relateable. 

*An advanced eARC was provided by the author in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*