All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters
This is the first time I’m talking about this book outside of its review and the wrap up post from the month I read it. I’d say it’s not a book I think about very often but I did really enjoy it. The setting is one that really pulls you in and the mystery is intriguing.
The first half of this book is genuinely spinetinglingly creepy. I love dark academia thrillers, especially at boarding schools. I wish the plot twist wasn’t revealed so quickly as not knowing what was going on was what made this book so creepy, however, it is still a great read – I wouldn’t recommend it otherwise, we all know I’m brutally honest in my reviews.
Synopsis: The students in Corbin College’s elite academic society, Magni Viri, have it all—free tuition, inspirational professors, and dream jobs once they graduate. When first-gen college student Tara is offered a chance to enroll, she doesn’t hesitate.? Except once she’s settled into the gorgeous Victorian dormitory, something strange starts to happen. She’s finally writing, but her stories are dark and twisted. Her dreams feel as if they could bury her alive. An unseen presence seems to stalk her through the halls. And a chilling secret awaits Tara at the heart of Magni Viri—one that just might turn her nightmares into reality; one that might destroy her before she has a chance to escape.
All That Consumes Us will pull readers into a hypnotizing, dark reverie that blurs the lines of reality and shows that the addictive nature of ambition—and its inevitable price—always claims its due.
One for Sorrow by Zoe Sugg & Amy McCulloch
Ok, so I know there’s been quite a lot of drama surrounding Zoe’s books but this one I did genuinely enjoy. I read the entire book in one day and for the longest time my review of this was my most viewed post – which I found weird at the time but I didn’t know anything about the ghost writing scandal of her first books (which I still don’t know whether it’s true as I don’t care enough to look it up).
I don’t remember a whole lot about it off the top of my head, that’s the trouble with reading an entire book in one sitting, but it was really entertaining. The writing style is very simple, but I love that sometimes. I love a book that doesn’t require too much brain power. A simple YA mystery can be good and while this one won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I liked it for what it is and not what I thought it should be – if that makes sense?
I never got around to reading the second book but I would like to at some point.
Synopsis: Illumen Hall is an elite boarding school. Tragedy strikes when the body of a student is discovered at their exclusive summer party – on her back is an elaborate tattoo of a magpie.
When new girl Audrey arrives the following term, running from her own secrets back home in America, she is thrown into solving the case. Despite her best efforts to avoid any drama, her new roommate Ivy was close to the murdered girl, and the two of them can’t help but get pulled in.
The two can’t stand each other, but as they are drawn deeper into the mystery of this strange and terrible murder, they will discover that something dangerous is at the heart of their superficially perfect school.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Graphic Novel Review: The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman