Book Review: The Ivies by Alexa Donne

Title: The Ivies

Author: Alexa Donne

Genre: Young Adult Thriller

Publication Date: May 25, 2021

Purchase at Amazon/ B&N

About The Book

Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly.

Alexa Donne delivers a nail-biting and timely thriller about teens who will stop at nothing to get into the college of their dreams. Too bad no one told them murder isn’t an extracurricular.

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My Thoughts

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ivies is a young adult thriller that reminds me of Nancy Drew with a Karen McManus’s One of Us is Lying ending but better.

Alexa Donne does a wonderful job connecting you to her characters whether you love or hate them. The Ivies are a clique of girls who are hellbent on getting what they want by any means necessary. There is always one in the group that does not belong because their conscience makes them rethink what they are doing. In the Ivies this happens to be Olivia.

The story is in Olivia’s point of view, which I liked. It was worth reading everything unravel through her. These girls had secrets from each other, but also did some horrible things to others to get into colleges that was overwhelming, but not over the top.

Alex was the leader whose personality was harsh, bullish and she was the main one who did not like not getting her way. Emma was the Ivy with the most secrets that causes issues for her. Sierra is the Ivy with hacking skills, which were useful. I know this is petty, but once again this is a book that highlights a black person in a bad light or having a criminal skill. Margot is the Ivy who plays it safe and is addicted to Starbucks. She likes to block things out and is loyal to a point. Olivia on the other hand, is the Ivy who reads between the lines. She is also kept in the dark on a lot of things. I enjoyed her investigative skills and wanting to uncover the truth.

The academy they attend is an on-campus school that has a college feel to it. I did wonder why the students had a run of the school and hardly any adult supervision. I only remember one teacher mentioned and not in a good way. I will say this story had a couple of mysteries going on and just when I thought I had it figured out a twist happened, which I loved.

If you like Karen McManus and Holly Jackson’s books than you will want to read the Ivies.

Author Jessica Anne Renwick shares Holiday Hopes

Jessica is an award-winning author who writes cozy stories with themes around friendship, family, and of course–romance! All of her romance books are sweet and clean. If small towns and happily-ever-afters are your cup of tea, then check out her Starlight Inn series!

She enjoys a hot cup of tea, gardening, animals, consuming an entire novel in one sitting, nerding out with video games, and real-life mountain adventures. Jessica resides in Alberta, Canada on a cozy urban homestead with her loving partner, fluffy backyard farm dogs, four chickens, and an enchanted garden.

Author Links

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Holiday Hopes

A Starlight Inn Novel

by Jessica Anne Renwick

Genre: Sweet Holiday Romance

She’s tethered to her past until he rescues the horse of her dreams . . .

Kelsey Simone can’t wait to have a tradition-filled family Christmas. When the vet school dropout’s sister invites her and their mom to stay at the idyllic Starlight Inn, Kelsey plans a holiday just like Grandma used to create in hopes of bringing their family together again. But she didn’t have a handsome stable manager with a Grinchy attitude on her Christmas list—nor the sick mare who reminds her of a past she’d rather forget.

Dane Clark has no time for seasonal frivolity. He has a stable to run, a lame horse to look after, and more than enough family drama to deal with. But the more the chatty guest with the pretty brown eyes and a way with horses gets under his skin, the harder it is to remember why he put himself out to pasture in the first place.

While helping the mare together, they start tearing down the fences of their pasts—until a storm hits and the Simone Family Christmas plans go awry. With the mare’s future in jeopardy, will Kelsey’s and Dane’s old wounds rear their heads, or can the warmth of Christmas melt their frosty hearts?

Holiday Hopes is the third title in the clean and wholesome Starlight Inn series. If you like flawed but hopeful heroes, charming small town romance, Christmas cheer, and family ties that sometimes bind, this is the book for you.

Buy Links

Grab your copy and get snowed in today!

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$20 Amazon

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Spotlight of The Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventures by Christy Cooper-Burnett

No Way Home

A Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventure Book 1

by Christy Cooper-Burnett

Genre: Time Travel, SciFi, Historical Fantasy

2020 California Author Project Winner – Adult Fiction

2020 PenCraft Award Winner – Science Fiction

“An action-packed time-travel adventure that will leave you thirsting for the sequel.” –Sublime Book Review

“A brilliant and thought-provoking book that readers who love tales of time travel will find fascinating.” –Authors Reading

Christine Stewart is a regular woman just doing her job when she gets stranded in history. When she gets up for the day, her plan is simple: go to work, travel back in time to the year 1867 in Oklahoma to deport a cyber-criminal, then head back to her time in 2070 Los Angeles and get ready to go on vacation with her son, Michael.

Then the system goes down and she-and dozens of other transporters around the world-are stranded in the past with minimal training and no supplies.

Just when she thinks things can’t get any more dangerous, she is cast further back in time and thousands of miles away.

As her goals shift from simply getting home to something much more dire to all of humanity, Christine must step outside of herself, work as part of a team, and ultimately make the choice between what it easy and what is right. Even if it costs her everything-including her one chance of ever getting home.

**Get it FREE Nov 18-22!!**

Goodreads * Amazon

Finding Home

A Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventure Book 2

An exiled prisoner. A desperate woman. A time travel agent willing to break the rules.

Malcolm Aldred is starting over in 1868, Oklahoma. There’s just one problem—he’s an exiled prisoner from 2070.

In 2071, Los Angeles, housewife Hannah Cole is desperate to escape her abusive husband, and begs Cyber Criminal Enforcement Agent Christine Stewart to send her somewhere, anywhere, in history. When Christine agrees to send Hannah to 1868, neither woman has any idea the events that sets in motion.

Malcolm and Hannah adapt to pioneer life in an untamed world full of danger and unimaginable hardships, but falling for each other was never part of the plan. When a deadly hunter tracks Hannah to 1868, fate intervenes and catapults her back to Colonial America, threatening to destroy their future before it ever begins.

Can Christine save Hannah in time or will they both be lost to history forever?

**Only .99cents Nov 18 – 22!!**

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Escaping Home

A Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventure Book 3

United States, 2072

With the country under the threat of war, a group of time-traveling government agents devise a risky plan to keep their families safe. But transporting hundreds of years to the past and blending in may prove much more dangerous than they expected.

Cyber Criminal Enforcement Agent Christine Stewart has been to the past before and thinks she knows what to expect. She couldn’t be more wrong.

Life in the eighteenth century is anything but ideal, especially when they learn a rogue agent with plans to strike it rich follows them back in time. Armed with a modern-day weapon, the agent may disrupt the timeline in the most disastrous way and alter history as they know it.

Now they’re refugees in their own homeland, and how they proceed will determine their fate. Will they crash and burn in their race to stop the defector before it’s too late?

**On Sale Nov 18-22!!**

Goodreads * Amazon

Christy Cooper-Burnett is an award-winning author based in California with a degree in Administration of Justice. After retiring early from the new home construction industry, she now divides her time between northern and southern California.

She has one grown son who inspired her to write her award-winning debut novel, No Way Home. She began her writing career later in life, but once she started she couldn’t stop. Her work focuses on creating relatable stories and characters that transcend genres and encourage readers to imagine what they would do if thrown into the unique, imaginative situations her protagonists end up in.

Christy’s debut novel, No Way Home, was the recipient of the 2020 California Author Project award in the Adult Fiction category, the 2020 PenCraft Award in the Science Fiction category, a 2021 Literary Titan Gold Medal Award and a finalist position in the 2021 International Book Awards, Science Fiction category. Her second novel, Finding Home released June 17, 2021, and early praise has already garnered several five-star reviews and her second Literary Titan Gold Medal Award. The third book in the Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventure series, Escaping Home, is an Indies Today recommended read and is set to launch on November 18, 2021.

You can learn more about Christy, subscribe to her mailing list for news and book deals or contact her at www.christycooperburnett.com.

Author Links

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

$100 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Episode 20 Sweethand by N. G. Peltier

Listen to Episode Here

Hello Reading Friends,

Welcome to Episode 20 of A Reader’s Book Corner!

In today’s episode we are discussing the contemporary enemies to lover romance, Sweethand by N. G. Peltier. I found out about this book through Jess Owens Booktube channel and I must agree with her that it is underrated and more people should be talking about it.

*Author Bio and other titles

*Overview of book

*Characters

*Book Discussion and thoughts

*Announcement of next book, The Gatekeeper’s Staff by Antoine Bandele

Learn more about N. G. Peltier at https://ngpeltier.com/

Purchase Sweethand at Amazon/ B&N

Connect with A Reader’s Book Corner

IG/Twitter/FB: @areadersbc

arbookcorner.wordpress.com/podcast

Until next time,

Happy Reading!