Dial Em For Murder by Marni Bates

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Humor and mayhem ensue when a teen girl gets caught up in the death of a hi-tech hitman and must try to stay one step ahead of the killers lurking in the shadows of an exclusive prep school. 


Source: hard copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review



Meet Emmy Danvers, an ambitious sixteen year-old who dreams of being a writer. The girl lives inside all her made up fantasies and sometimes they're quite hilarious. But not even her imagination comes close to real life when she enters bizarro world. While at a coffee shop she's confronted by a stranger who unloads some cryptic messages on her and then suddenly dies. On top of her. That'd be enough to convince anyone to give up coffee forever. Emmy is shocked as it is until the police question her relationship to the deceased man and behave as if she knows more than she's letting on. It gets even crazier when she learns that the old man who died on her is the grandfather of Sebastian St. James, the best friend of her best friend's ex. Got that? Sebastian mysteriously appears at the police station to talk to Emmy believing that his grandfather gave her something that she's unaware of. Something that's meant for him. He knows more than he's willing to share which infuriates her to no end. Apparently whoever killed his grandfather is after her. As if things can't get more bizarre, he arranges for Emmy to attend his private school, Emptor Academy so that she can be closer for him to keep an eye on her. Her best friends and mother protest but give up the fight much too easily as she accepts the offer and heads off to a new school, making new acquaintances, managing mean girls and in her spare time, solving this big mystery that has something to do with her family.

I enjoyed the story overall though I was dubious about one plot line in particular: the rather quick arrangement for Emmy to leave her public school to go to the Academy. That one detail nagged at me because I felt like it was just too easy. It's kind of explained later how that came about but it still felt a bit flimsy to me. I did enjoy Emmy's personality. She tends to have a hyperactive imagination, especially when she's writing her novels which I could totally relate to. I mean who hasn't on occasion just dreamed up something in their heads and let them take on a life of their own? I just thought she was adorable and funny. Sebastian ... I mentioned he's mysterious. He has that vibe down but I didn't sense anything more from him than just that he's hiding something.

Dial Em For Murder is a cute mystery with some interesting characters that had me giggling at certain moments. The end did raise my eyebrows a bit, in a good way. I think it leaves room for a sequel though I'm not sure if there are plans for that. Check it out and share what you think!

~ Bel

Awkwardly Ever After by Marni Bates

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From Kensington:

It's prom season at Smith High School and love is in the air. . .for some people.

Melanie Morris knows she shouldn't keep flirting with her best friend's brother, Dylan Wellesley, even though the last thing she feels is "sisterly" around the cute soon-to-be freshman. But attending prom with somebody else might mean losing him for good. . .

Isobel Peters accepts the fact that she's a huge geek, but she never expected renowned player, Spencer King, would want to get his hands on. . .her reputation. What begins as a bargain could turn into something real--or a Notable disaster!

Corey O'Neal is dating the boy of his dreams, rockstar Timothy Goff. But it isn't easy to trade in anonymity for instant celebrity status, especially now that swarms of protesters want them both banned from prom. Dating Prince Charming in real life is a whole lot harder than it sounds in fairytales.

Happily ever after? Try awkwardly ever after!

The Bad:

There were just a couple little things that got in the way of my loving the final installation… Awkwardly was told through multiple POVs, which I love, but because of it, there were times when the transitions were abrupt and a little jarring. Also, Corey and Tim's drama seemed rushed to the finish line. I needed it fleshed out a little more, but also because I love Corey & Tim!

The Good:

Thank god that's over, now we can get on to the awesome in Awkwardly! 

First Melanie and Dylan – seriously, how cute are these two? Poor Melanie can't open up about her traumatic home life and all she wants is to lean on Dylan. But Dylan is off limits – the girl code says "thou shall not lust after your friends little brother" especially when said little brother is still in junior high. But Dylan's survived his own drama and is strong enough to help Melanie and just might benefit from Melanie's TLC when his long lost, jerkface dad makes a reappearance. These two will give you a toothache they are so sweet!

Isobel and Spencer are our bad boy and girl who are just too ridiculous to admit that they might be great together. The fro-yo shop scene is awesome!

And finally Corey and Tim. Sigh. Corey's been bullied and tormented for refusing to hide who he is, but his reward is the dreamy boy-band rocker Tim. But while it's hard to be openly gay in high school, it's an entirely different story to come out with Tim and the ensuing chaos of being thrust into the international news cycles with paparazzi watching your every move. They are really put to the test when the school decrees that the two boys cannot attend prom together. Corey just wants to spend some alone time with his boyfriend, not be a poster child for bullying and discrimination. Tim's mad as hell and willing to use all his influence to fight for their rights. Can Corey and Tim survive prom?

Besides feeling a little rushed with Corey and Tim and the crazy POV transitions, Awkwardly is fantastic. If you guys haven't read this series you should! It's all about a group of socially awkward and hilarious students at Smith High trying to find their places in the world, and hopefully a little love and acceptance along the way. This series is perfect for a little laugh out loud light reading!

~Shel

A Peek In The BiblioBin #104

Welcome to our Stacking the Shelves post! Stacking the Shelves (or as we like to call it, A Peek in the BiblioBin) has been created by the lovely ladies at Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking the Shelves is a way for bloggers to share what books they have won, received for review, bought from the bookstore, borrowed from the library or friend, etc.

For Review:

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness (NetGalley)
Awkwardly Ever After (Smith High #4) by Marni Bates (NetGalley)
Islands of Rage and Hope (Black Tide Rising #3) by John Ringo

Purchased:

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) by Jeaniene Frost (audio)


Borrowed:

One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress #2) by Jeaniene Frost (audio)

Invisible by Marni Bates

*** 1/2

From KTeen:

It's not easy being best friends with a celebrity...

I'm invisible at my high school and I'm fine with it.  It's kind of inevitable with a name like Jane Smith.  But when the school newspaper staff insisted that I write a cover story, I decided to find out just how much scandal one geeky girl could uncover.

Except I never expected to find myself starting a fistfight, auditioning for the school's Romeo and Juliet musical, running away with a Romeo of my own, befriending the most popular girl in school, or trying to avoid one very cute photographer, who makes it impossible to be invisible...

I admit, Decked With Holly remains my favorite in this series, but Invisible was a cute, fun read that had me laughing out loud.  Jane is a very typical teen in her reactions to the troubles with her friends.  And while the situations in the books exaggerated and unbelievable, the reactions and characters stay true to themselves.  

I will admit that I was puzzled by Jane's attraction to Scott, who spends most of the book acting like a complete jerk and is openly hostile.  The only thing that makes him remotely redeemable (aside from being cute), is that he challenges Jane where everyone else coddles her.  Still, this wasn't enough for me to actually like or root for him.

If you haven't started this series yet, definitely pick it up for your fun, light reading requirements.  The next in the series, Notable adds a little mystery to the mix and I cannot wait to see how the Queen of the Notables handles life in Cambodia.  Notable is available October 29, 2013.

~Shel

Decked With Holly by Marni Bates

***1/2

From Kensington Teen:

Holly Dayton is about to go way out of her comfort zone…

Spending Christmas vacation on a cruise with her two cousins from hell isn’t Holly’s idea of a good time. And when in a moment of seasick-fueled desperation she lurches into an open suite—she’s greeted with an eyeful of pepper spray. The culprit? A gorgeous guy calling himself Nick. But when Holly goes to make her exit, she gets the shock of her life: a corridor crammed with screaming teenage fans. Because Nick just happens to be Dominic Wyatt, drummer for ReadySet—one of the hottest bands in America.

Suddenly rumors are swirling, and Holly’s face is captured on countless phones and plastered all over the Internet. But the band can’t risk a scandal destroying their family-friendly image, so Dominic convinces Holly to be his fake girlfriend—just for two weeks. How bad could it be to be fauxmantically involved with one of the cutest rockstars on the planet? Holly’s about to find out…

 

Decked With Holly is a very Cinderella story, complete with a wicked step-mother, horrible step-sisters and loveable orphan Holly.  In our story, Holly lost her parents as a baby and was raised by her aging, but loving grandfather.  Holly’s wicked step-mother is actually her Aunt and her female cousins play the role of the step-sisters.  And they are completely horrible people lacking any redeeming qualities.   And while Grandpa is old, there’s no excuse for him not telling his daughter and granddaughters to shut the hell up.  And the other men/guys in the book all sit silently by while the Aunt and cousins put the meanest of “mean girls” to shame.  Our rock star Nick isn’t exactly charming, but he is a modern day prince as the drummer in an uber-popular boy band.    

Decked With Holly is hilarious, which I wan't expecting.  I haven’t giggled that much during a book since Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich.  While the supporting characters are exaggerated, Holly and Dominic feel surprisingly honest in their one-on-one interactions.  I enjoyed Decked With Holly and think it should be on everyone’s holiday reading list this year.  I haven’t read Bates’ debut Awkward, but I am definitely going to pick it up. 

~Shel