Triple Review: The November 3rd Grievers

The Grievers

So, as you can see, these books have something in common. What is that? Let’s discuss:

  • They all feature a main character grieving over the loss of a loved one.
  • They all have a heavy emphasis on the character trying to find themselves again after said loss.
  • They include the family and friends of the character quite a bit.
  • They are all being published on November 3, 2015.

It’s a random day for a bunch of books about loss to come out, but whatever. These were all, thank goodness, books I liked. As you’ll see, some of them I liked more than others, but these all fall somewhere in the positive end of the rating spectrum, so it’s a good situation. Let’s do this, shall we?

Triple Review: The November 3rd Grievers The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens
Published by HarperTeen on November 3rd 2015
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:via Edelweiss

Sadie Kingston, is a girl living in the aftermath. A year after surviving a car accident that killed her friend Trent and left her body and face scarred, she can’t move forward. The only person who seems to understand her is Trent’s brother, Max.

As Sadie begins to fall for Max, she's unsure if she is truly healed enough to be with him — even if Max is able to look at her scars and not shy away. But when the truth about the accident and subsequent events comes to light, Sadie has to decide if she can embrace the future or if she'll always be trapped in the past.

Who is grieving: Sadie

Who is she grieving for: Trent, a close friend who has died in a car accident that also left Sadie injured and ultimately scarred.

Dear Courtney Stevens,

Thank you for this book. If it wasn’t for you and Sadie and the gang, I am pretty sure I would still be in my epic reading slump. This book was lovely and then some.

Love,

Shannon

This book. Where do I even begin. I have been going back and forth between 4.5 and 5 stars. I really, really liked this one, as you can tell. Can I give it 4.75 stars? Because that is really what it is. Almost perfect. I just don’t know if I can make the five star leap, though I will give it 5 on Goodreads and Amazon and such.  Anyway, I digress. Sadie and her entire close circle of friends and family have been in mourning over the car accident that killed Trent, and injured Sadie and Trent’s brother Max. The emotions are palpable, of course, because this group has been friends quite literally forever. Their parents are friends with each other, and there’s just a very deep connection among them all.

And Sadie has scars. Lots of them, both external and internal, and she isn’t dealing with any of them very well. She’s shut out her friend Gina and e-boyfriend Gray. Really, the only relationships she has been bothering with at all are Max, Metal Pete at the scrapyard, and her parents. And yes, her therapist Fletcher, but that is kind of not of her own desire.

I am going to try to break this into two parts: Inside Sadie and Outside Sadie. 

Inside Sadie

This is the turmoil, despair, and self consciousness lurking within Sadie. This is her trying to somehow come to terms with Trent’s death, with her own newly scarred appearance, her fears, and her new obstacles. It’s such a gorgeous and heartbreaking journey, tears are welling just thinking about it. I think that no matter what, everyone will find some aspect of Sadie to relate to. We’ve all suffered loss, and fears, and self doubt. We’ve all had roadblocks and challenges and gut wrenching sadness. So even when Sadie does things that may be selfish, or immature, or even self deprecating, it’s so plain to see the pain she’s in. The thing is, she never gives up. She may take a step back, but she always tries to regain her ground, eventually. Sadie was both broken and brave, and so incredibly, imperfectly human.

Outside Sadie

Ah, the relationships of Sadie. There are many, and they are all incredibly dynamic in nature.

  • Sadie’s family. Sadie’s mom… just wow. She was such a lovely, lovely character, and even though they are kind of all fictional, I was so glad that they had each other. Sadie’s dad was a good guy too, but I fell in love with her mom. Also, notice we’re talking about parents? Yeah, that is because they are a huge part of Sadie’s live and her progress, which is how it should be!
  • Sadie’s friends. Clearly there has been some disconnect between Sadie, Gina, and Gray. I won’t spoil anything, because it is a complicated situation. But they are hurting too. Gina is Trent’s ex-girlfriend, so she is in her own world of hurt, and Gray was his best friend, so again, hurting. But they try to get Sadie out of her own head even though they’re having a rough time too.
  • Max. Ohh Max, where do I start with thee? I adored Max. He was just a good guy, plain and simple. A broken guy, after losing his brother, of course. His whole family, understably, was a mess, and took a year away. But they’re back now, and have to learn how to live again with their loved ones as a family of three. I can’t even imagine Max’s pain, but he tries so hard to be there for Sadie, even though he is torn apart inside and out. We also get to see some of their feelings through a series of emails from Sadie to Max while he was away.
  • The others. You’ll meet Metal Pete (so much love!) and Sadie’s therapist, who she has a very realistically portrayed relationship with. I find this to be a huge win.
  • Trent. Yes, we get to know Trent quite a bit throughout this story, which I loved. It’s rare that the deceased character has such personality in a story, but Trent does indeed. Through flashbacks, talks between the friends and families, and even Sadie’s thoughts, we see so much of who Trent was. He wasn’t perfect. He was wonderful, but not some canonized version of himself. They remembered his good qualities; they remembered his flaws.

Bottom Line: Sometimes a book can really, really touch your heart, and this book touched mine. The characters seemed to jump off the page with their struggles, heartache, and ultimately their desire to live again. The Lies About Truth was a journey through and through: a journey of grief, of friendship, of love, but mostly of self. And it was far more beautiful than I could have expected.

5s


Triple Review: The November 3rd Grievers Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young
Published by Simon Pulse on November 3rd 2015
Pages: 288
Format:eARC
Source:via Edelweiss

Stay Tonight. Stay Forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn't have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.
The more Audrey learns about the new people she's met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…
Welcome to the Ruby.

Who is grieving: Audrey

Who she is grieving for: Her mother, who died suddenly and left the whole family reeling.

Hotel Ruby has a very unique premise, no? I mean, have their even been any books set in strange old luxury hotels? Certainly none that I’ve read. Most of the book was strong and entertaining. I only had a few mild gripes. So let’s highlight all that, shall we?

The good:

  • Audrey’s family interaction and relationships were basically the main focus of the book. “What!?”, you exclaim. “A book that actually focuses on the family?” To which I reply with a solemn “yes” and a head nod, as though we have stumbled upon the keys to the universe. In seriousness though, it is so intriguing (and so sad) to see the different ways Audrey’s family has dealt with their grief. Basically, they haven’t, honestly. Especially her father, who probably should try to get his act together for the poor kids who just lost their mom, but he is an absolute wreck. They all are, really, and Audrey seems to be the only one willing to talk about it, which hurts even more.
  • The atmosphere is on point. Oh, you can totally feel that you are in a creepy old hotel. No question. The author does an amazing job of setting the scene, and I could vividly imagine the whole place. And throughout the story, I just felt a sense of… unease, perhaps? And I definitely wanted to know all the things about this hotel and its occupants. Quite well done.
  • The hotel guests and employees were extremely well developed. I cared about them quite a bit by the end of the book, which was surprising since Audrey had only been at the hotel for a short time. But they were likable and unique, and I couldn’t help but adore them. The love interest, Elias, also piqued my curiosity quite a bit. I enjoyed the relationship between Audrey and Elias, even if it was kind of quick. I don’t think I’d call it insta-love exactly, because I don’t think it was love, just some intense like.
  • The plot was unsettling and intriguing and pretty fabulous. In this case, unsettling plots are a good thing, of course. There was a lot of information to be uncovered about the hotel, its history, what was actually going on in there, how/if Audrey and her family were going to pull themselves together again, the unhappiness of the hotel employees… I could go on and on. There was a lot going on, but never too much.

The not as good:

  • I did figure out some stuff pretty quickly. Not all the stuff. But some stuff. It didn’t really lessen my enjoyment of the book, but perhaps my anticipation, just a bit. There were still things that I had no idea about, so that was good.
  • I would have liked a bit more backstory on Audrey’s life. I mean, we do get a little bit of backstory, but I could have used just a bit more, just to make me feel more connected to Audrey.

The Bottom Line: My complaints are only minor, because I really did enjoy this book. Between the creepy atmosphere and the family dynamics, I was never bored.

4s


 

Triple Review: The November 3rd Grievers The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on November 3rd 2015
Pages: 320
Format:eARC
Source:via Netgalley

A suicide pact was supposed to keep them together, but a broken promise tore them apart

Allie is devastated when her older sister commits suicide - and not just because she misses her. Allie feels betrayed. The two made a pact that they'd always be together, in life, and in death, but Leah broke her promise and Allie needs to know why.

Her parents hover. Her friends try to support her. And Nick, sweet Nick, keeps calling and flirting. Their sympathy only intensifies her grief.
But the more she clings to Leah, the more secrets surface. Allie's not sure which is more distressing: discovering the truth behind her sister's death or facing her new reality without her.

Who is grieving: Allie

Who she is grieving for: Her older sister Leah, who broke their pact and decided to take her life without Allie.

This is a tough book to review. On one hand, I liked it, especially while I was reading it. On the other, I have been going back and forth in my head about why. So here is basically what I have decided (with… myself? That’s not super weird.): The more I think about it, the less I actually like it. So I am just going to be spewing this all out now.

Allie is a mess during this book, as anyone would be after losing their sister. But, Allie’s pain is made even worse by the fact that she and her sister had always told each other that they’d never end their lives without the other one doing so too. So she now is dealing with the pain of losing her sister, and also wondering why her sister has left her behind. Throw in some really crappy family dynamics and the love life from hell and well.. you have one girl with a lot of problems.

The thing about this that I liked really was the realism. Because at first, a lot of people were concerned about Allie. And eventually… they became less so, as people do. As much as you’d like to think that the world grinds to a halt when you’re dying inside, it does not. And it is so, so clear in this story. Allie’s mom has her own demons, including struggles with pills and some mental health issues. Allie’s dad has his struggle with assholery happening, which makes him worse than useless, because he is basically a bully. Allie’s crush, Max, likes to pretend he cares about her until some new girl comes around for him to try to hook up with. And the new love interest in her life, Nick, seems to be very nice to Allie, until he starts being Judgy McJudgerson and instead of helping Allie, he decides to make her feel like crap about her decisions.

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And sadly, this is the most personality Nick has in the whole book. I never found him particularly endearing at any point, which I suppose is why Allie wasn’t thrilled with him either. But Max wasn’t really any better, though I suppose you can’t help who you have feelings for?

So yeah, Allie’s on her own, trying to unravel the secrets of Leah’s life in an attempt to get a bit of closure. Alone, except for her pills. And here is where things started to break down for me a bit. You have a girl with a history of mental health issues, and a huge (and fatal) family history of drug abuse. But let’s offer her pills! ALL the pills, of course. And other drugs. And when you see her chugging cold medicine, let’s just turn a blind eye. Look, I do understand that the world is not going to stop for Allie’s loss and grief, but for goodness sake, do people have to throw all the pills at her? pills

Just another Tuesday with these folks. 

Which brings me to another problem: WHY does everyone in this book use drugs? Like, what kind of fresh hell is this? Allie gets made fun of for not using drugs, not having sex, and it doesn’t make any sense to me. Is this my age showing? If this is what high school is like now, my children will be homeschooled. At a convent. Even the boy. I digress, but seriously, this is not real life. Nor is there any reason given for why all the drugs have to be used by every single person. So it was both annoying and confusing.

Bottom Line: I don’t know. On one hand, the story was certainly emotionally gripping, and I couldn’t help but feel for Allie in so, so many ways. But the lack of sense of any other character left me scratching my head. I understand that there will be people in life who let you down, but all of them? Had that been the case, I would have assumed Allie’s story would have taken a much uglier turn.

3s

So, sorry that I have likely bummed you out with all this death talk. 

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Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Thoughts?

Posted October 26, 2015 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review / 38 Comments

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38 responses to “Triple Review: The November 3rd Grievers

  1. I am starting the Lies About Truth this week so I skipped that one 🙂 But I have my review up for The Sister Pact. I think I felt really similarly to you. I liked it when I read it but a lot of things bothered me – all the drugs, no one noticing she was so messed up which surprises me only because of all the issues they should have been hyper alert, bad friends, crappy parents – UGH. Nick I had conflicting feelings because while he was judgy (dumb ass) I think he did try at least at some point to be there for her. So yeah I was kind of left feeling unsure on how I felt about it. Great review!!

    • Aw thanks! I hope you are enjoying Lies About Truth! I do see what you mean about Nick, but something about him.. man, he just rubbed me the wrong way! Like, I do think he cared about her, you’re right about that for sure. I guess I just hated the way he went about it. These people were all awful. I wanted to call Allie and tell her to move in with me 😉

  2. I have all of these books on my eventual TBR but what a strange, strange coincident that they are all so similarly themed and being published on the same day! I haven’t read any books set in luxury hotels (or I don’t think so) either, so that DOES sound really good. The last one sounds SO SUPER SAD so I don’t know if I’ll get to that soon. I’m so no tin the right mood! Great reviews, Shannon.

    • Thanks! Isn’t that so weird?! I mean, what are the chances? And I know what you mean, if you’re not in the right frame of mind, sad books are HARD (I will say, Lies About Truth was, for me, much more emotional than Sister Pact- though SP was also sad, of course.)

  3. I love Suzanne Young. The Program series is one of my favourites. I have never preordered before, and recently I decided to try it out with Hotel Ruby. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’m glad you liked it overall, and that your complaints are just minor. I feel relieved. I can be pretty awful with figuring things out in books, so hopefully I won’t have any issues. I also don’t think I’ve come across a book featuring a hotel. I believe I saw Suzanne Young tweet that she was inspired by American Horror Story. She also tweeted that there is a scene that she thinks of as The Shining meets Dirty Dancing. *squeals* I’m not sure if you have seen either movie, but if you have, please tell me this scene is true. Clearly I am a little too obsessed with this book already. 😛

    • Ohh yay, pre ordering! I am the worst (worst for my bank account, best for publishers) pre orderer EVER. I am so excited that you are pre ordering- welcome to the dark side MWHAHAHA 😉 Sadly, I haven’t seen The Shining, but I think I get the Dirty Dancing reference, and I think I know enough about The Shining to confirm that I can see this as a “thing” 😀 I really hope you love the book!

  4. Wow, is November 3rd some secret tragic anniversary that I am totally unaware of? Just reading the synopsis of these books are making me sad. Hotel Ruby sounds amazing, I love the ideas of all the different hotel guests, yet with a focus on family. My most recent brush with hotel in fiction is UNFORTUNATELY the latest season of American Horror Story – which is plain vulgar URGH. Hopefully this read will cleanse out my palate. The Lies About The Truth sounds heartbreaking and beautiful! Wonderful reviews <3

    • Hahha that is what I was thinking too! Are we commemorating something? Ohhh no worries, Hotel Ruby is definitely vulgar! It’s more mysterious than horrific. And The Lies About the Truth is so amazing, just what I needed!! Thanks so much 🙂

  5. I keep on reading about how good Hotel Ruby is. I like how the old hotel would really give you the creeps. That somehow made me want to read this for the creepy atmosphere, haha. I like how it’s about family – their relationship to each other.. didn’t know about that before. Now I’m more excited to read this!!

  6. You have me *so* sold on The Lies About Truth. I liked Faking Normal by Courtney Stevens and have seen this one mentioned here and there but it’s wasn’t really on my radar. But reading your review makes me full-on grabby hands for it. I just put it on reserve at the library and should be the first to get it. (Yay!) Btw, love the Easy A gif from The Sister Pact review. LOL

  7. I read The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens , absolutely loved that one. Hotel Ruby looks good, I might read it despite the insta-love.. The Sister Pact, hum.. I’ll pass

  8. Whoa. All those covers are gorgeous up close! I’ve been tempted to grab The Lies About Truth. It sounds absolutely lovely, so I think I just might! So does Hotel Ruby, even though the premise reminds me somewhat of that recent horror movie, The Visit, and I’m not really a fan of horror movies. hahah. 😀 The Sister Pact sounds a tad similar to Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver, and dare I say, I’m almost tempted to read it? As always, fab reviews! 😀

    • They ARE pretty covers, aren’t they? I liked them all. I really hope you do enjoy The Lies About Truth! And I think in ways, you are right, there ARE similarities between Vanishing Girls and The Sister Pact. Though I will say I liked VG much more 😉 And Hotel Ruby is more… subtly creepy than horror, if that helps 😀 Thanks so much!!

  9. Awesome reviews. I need to check out The Lies About Truth. With The Sister Pact, I kept going back and forth with 3 stars and 4. Finally, I gave it 4 because it was more like a 3.5 (I rounded up and all that). One of the things I liked most about this was the realistic way they portrayed addictions. And yeah, it seemed like EVERYONE in Allie’s life had a problem with drugs in some form or another. One thing I did not like at all was the romance (such as it was). Max was a jerk and Nick was boring (and a bit judgmental). I think the author could have left that part out altogether.

    • Aw thanks! I went back and forth with The Sister Pact too! While reading, I was thinking a 3.5, but then afterward, when I tried to write the review, it almost went down to a 2.5. So I kind of met it in the middle. Nick and Max were unnecessary. At least one of them was. I don’t even care which hahah.

  10. That’s so interesting that all these similar sounding books come out on the same day! I’m glad you liked most of them! I really like books that deal with grief and other tough topics, so thanks for sharing. 🙂

  11. Totally agree about the first two books here!

    Hotel Ruby was good overall but I figured out some of the twists right away. The book was still interesting and I wanted to see where it went, at least! I wish we learned more about her life before the hotel as well, especially because of how the book ended….

    • I did too! I like… figured out half of the twist, anyway. Like, I knew what was happening, but I wasn’t sure of the endgame. I hope that made sense haha. I agree, I DO wish we learned more about her life. And I also want to know why no one was concerned that Grandma was probably worried sick 😉

  12. Geez, who would have known there were so many death books all releasing on the same day! LOL I’m currently reading The Lies About Truth, so I didn’t read your review… but 5 stars! Yay!! 🙂 I thought about reading The Sister Pact, but I’m still torn. I won a copy of Hotel Ruby, so I’ll probably read that one soon too. Great post, Shannon! 🙂

    • Right? It is so random! I hope you are enjoying (or, quite possibly, HAVE enjoyed) The Lies About Truth! Hotel Ruby is worth the read for sure. Sister Pact… maybe? I mean, if I had read it AFTER The Lies About Truth, I probably would have rated it lower, honestly. It has some good points for sure, but I wouldn’t be racing out to get it. Thanks so much 😀

  13. Awesome reviews, Shannon! I am SO stoked that you loved The Lies About Truth even more than I did! ;D It was just such a quiet but gorgeous book, and gah my feels were so all over the place when I read it! I loved Max and Sadie’s parents so much! <3 And I get you–it was just missing this *something*… So I gave it 4 stars myself. 🙂

    I'm really excited to read Hotel Ruby! I requested it mainly because Suzanne Young has never failed me in the past. 😉 I'm curious though–is there a romance? I love great family dynamics and all, but Suzanne's romances are usually the best part of her books for me. 😛 But of course I'm in it for the creepy atmosphere!

    • Thanks so much! And yes! Like it was *almost* perfect. But not quite. I am a pretty lenient rater though, and I always round up on Goodreads and stuff, so meh 😉

      There IS a romance in Hotel Ruby! It’s pretty good! I mean, I definitely shipped it. It’s a little insta-lovey, but not even LOVE, just more like… “hey we like each other and we’re in the same hotel so let’s think about each other a lot”. If that made any sense? 😉

  14. I just have to say that until I sat down to actually read this post I thought that the “Grievers” was a reference to Firefly. (Then I went online and realized those are spelled “greevers”.) The more you know!

    • I was confusing myself because I kept thinking of the Grievers in The Maze Runner! Bwhahah. I guess I could have come up with a better term? This is what happens when you don’t plan out posts 😉 Mourners could have worked better, I suppose. Meh! It’s done now 😀

  15. Oh wow, you have been reading some really emotional books lately and they must have been tearing at your heartstrings! I have heard of all of these apart from the last one. I actually have Lies about the Truth and that is what sounds promising to me most of all.

    • Aw thank you SO much! I saw that on Twitter too, you have no idea how much that means to me- you totally made my day! Now, we just keep our fingers crossed that you love it too 😀 And Hotel Ruby was really good and unique, definitely worth a read!

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