Showing posts with label Caleb Roehrig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caleb Roehrig. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2019

Book Review: Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig


Goodreads Overview:

Teenage socialite Margo Manning leads a dangerous double life. By day, she dodges the paparazzi while soaking up California sunshine. By night, however, she dodges security cameras and armed guards, pulling off high-stakes cat burglaries with a team of flamboyant young men. In and out of disguise, she’s in all the headlines.

But then Margo’s personal life takes a sudden, dark turn, and a job to end all jobs lands her crew in deadly peril. Overnight, everything she’s ever counted on is put at risk. Backs against the wall, the resourceful thieves must draw on their special skills to survive. But can one rebel heiress and four kickboxing drag queens withstand the slings and arrows of truly outrageous fortune? Or will a mounting sea of troubles end them — for good?

Jacque's Review:

Margo Manning is the only child of an extremely wealthy business man. She has been in the spotlight and tabloids her entire life (think Paris Hilton), but nothing was really challenging her until she and her drag queen friends begin carrying out various high stakes burglaries.  Margo isn't doing it for the money, but her team definitely is.  They are extremely good at what they do, but one of their jobs hit a little too close to home and the "victim" is now out for blood. 

Margo discovers there was more to her father's death than an incurable disease and is determined to bring down the people responsible. This next job could solve all of their problems, but the risks and challenges may be insurmountable.  They need to recruit an additional team member or the plan will never work, but who can they trust that possesses the skills they need? Margo thinks she may know just the right man for the job.

This was a very entertaining book with unforgettable characters. The dialogue and interactions between Margo and the boys were laugh out loud hysterical at times and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the action during the heists. I also found all of the planning and high tech gadgets to be fascinating.  There was even a little bit of flirting and romance between some of the characters, which also kept the pages turning.  

The one thing I found distracting was the use of obscure vocabulary throughout the book. I am a well educated individual with multiple college degrees and even I felt like I was taking the vocabulary section of the ACT or SAT. Having to look up the occasional word is one thing, but this novel was loaded with terms the vast majority of individuals probably aren't familiar with. I read it on my kindle and could easily click on the word to get the definition, but I'm sure most readers wouldn't take the time and would eventually get frustrated. Especially young adult readers, which is the target audience.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book with plenty of action, adventure and a little bit of romance that should capture and hold the attention of most readers. I really enjoyed the drag queen twist to the heists. That isn't something you read about every day and would have been hysterical to watch on the surveillance video.  A bunch of above average sized women in flamboyant outfits and wigs taking down some of the most advanced security systems and guards money can buy.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Book review: White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig


Book Summary
Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian—the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Just as Rufus is getting ready to move on, Sebastian turns up out of the blue, saying they need to "talk." Things couldn’t get much worse, right?

But then Rufus gets a call from his sister April, begging for help. And then he and Sebastian find her, drenched in blood and holding a knife, beside the dead body of her boyfriend, Fox Whitney.

April swears she didn’t kill Fox—but Rufus knows her too well to believe she’s telling him the whole truth. April has something he needs, though, and her price is his help. Now, with no one to trust but the boy he wants to hate yet can’t stop loving, Rufus has one night to prove his sister’s innocence…or die trying.


Flo's Review
White Rabbit publishes in less than a week and I don't have my review up! Whaaa?! Okay, first of all, if you have Twitter and don't follow Caleb Roehrig, go do so now. I'll wait. (His Twitter handle is @mikalebroehrig). He's fun, insightful, and civic minded. He'll have you nodding in agreement, laughing along, shaking your fist...all the feels.

Speaking of feels, can I just give Rufus a hug?! I love him. He is honest with himself, and that is an admirable quality. Because that makes him raw and vulnerable at times. It's a hard place to be in, but I love that he is blatant in his thoughts about how he's feeling. I just adored the story between him and Sebastian, too. I won't say too much about it because I don't want to give away how it all ends up, but it was a journey between the two of them that had me continually holding my breath and wanting more.

Then, of course, there's the murder. I'll be honest with you: I had NO IDEA who the killer was until that person was revealed. The night was so carefully plotted that I found myself getting confused with the sequence of events as Rufus and Sebastian kept hearing different stories from different people. But I enjoyed it -- it was intricate yet simple at the same time. Well done!


White Rabbit comes out Tuesday, April 24th and I recommend picking it up!


See our review of Caleb Roehrig's first book, Last Seen Leaving: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2016/07/review-last-seen-leaving-by-caleb.html.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Review: Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Last Seen Leaving

Jacque's Review:

Flynn is a high school sophomore whose ex-girlfriend, January, is reported missing.  The breakup was a relatively recent turn of events, so he becomes a prime suspect.  In an effort to discover the truth, and clear his name, he uncovers a number of discrepancies.  January had been lying to him and just about everyone he "interviews" about her disappearance.

We don't have the opportunity to meet January before her disappearance, but there are several flashbacks to Flynn's encounters and conversations with her.  Her mother recently married a wealthy politician and her life was turned upside down.  She was forced to transfer to a private school, her home life was a disaster, and she was distancing herself from all of her friends.  She was under a considerable amount of pressure from her step-father and his campaign manager, but all of these factors combined don't seem like enough to make her run away.  

In addition to the mystery, the book focuses on Flynn coming to terms with who he is as an individual.  I loved his personality and sense of humor from the beginning, but admitting the truth allowed him the chance to finally be himself.  He was essentially forced to come out and wasn't prepared, but I felt like Roehrig did an excellent job of portraying Flynn's feelings and experiences in a very realistic manner.  Everything wasn't champagne and roses and I certainly wouldn't expect it to be. 

There were several twists that I did not see coming, including the ending.  I felt like the story wrapped up nicely, but there is still the possibility for a second book in the series. 

I gave this book 5 stars and will definitely add whatever Caleb releases next to my TBR list.  This book was very well written and is highly entertaining.

Flo's Review:

So Jacque is the resident crime thriller reader of the Book Nerds. (I mean, Mary and I read them, too, but Jacque the most I think.) So fitting her review is first. I will start with agreeing with her last statement: this book was really well done. The past few nights I found myself up late at night reading this...and then I decided that I needed to wait until daytime to read further! (This is why I'm not big into murder mysteries, etc...I spook easily!) Another tidbit about me as a reader: I never guess who dunnit. Never. You know some people are all, "I totally figured it out before the book was over!" or "It was clearly this person!" Me? Legit never. So while I was reading all these twists and turns, I was totally believing what Flynn was believing the whole time. At one point I thought I had a suspect and I was all upset because I liked that person, but it didn't end up being that person. (Of course.)

All this to say that Last Seen Leaving had me puzzling, in suspense, kinda creeped out, questioning almost everyone in the story....Caleb sucked me in completely! I opened that book and got lost in the web of mystery. And even after I finished, I was still thinking about it -- putting together pieces in my head, realizing connections, and so forth.

But Last Seen Leaving was also funny! Even though it's an intense story and subject, I found myself literally laughing out loud several times at Flynn's thoughts and flashbacks. I tend to not like too many flashbacks in a story, but the ones here were enough to give context to the story, but not too much to take you out of the current action.

Last Seen Leaving comes out in October, and I would recommend picking it up...but maybe not late at night! ;-p

Mary's Review:

Okay, I'm going to be the BookNerd to admit this first...I had no clue (in the world) who Caleb Roehrig was prior to BEA.  However, all of us BookNerds were lucky enough to meet him at BEA & let me tell you this guy is a dream! And I'll even tell you it's one reason why we read this book so fast! He's a dream!

Onto the book...

What I liked:

I've backed off my mystery love here lately. Nothing has seemed to 'grab' me and keep me hooked in. However, there's something about this book I just couldn't put down. Flynn, is OMG! (Yes, that's a descriptive word!) He's funny, caring, and desperate to find January. Every time a new character came up I was on the edge of my seat to see the clues and figure out if they had 'done it'. It's a real page-turner! Each chapter there's a new surprise, a bit of foreshadowing, and a few laughs.

What I didn't like:

I have to agree on Flo with this one...Flashbacks! I'm not a huge fan of them either, BUT...BUT...Caleb doesn't bombard you with them & they are necessary to the story. However, it's the only thing I didn't particular care for.

This book is a must read! A must have! It's due out in October and it'll be a great 'FALL' read! I would recommend it to everyone.


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Thursday at BEA - Fierce Reads Blogger Event


BEA was in Chicago this year, which is a pretty easy drive for me from Columbus, Ohio.  I arrived around noon on Thursday with the hopes of meeting Ransom Riggs, David Levithan, and Stacey Kade.


I missed Ransom by an hour or so, but I was thrilled to meet David Levithan.  I tried to get his autograph at BEA 2014 when I was in New York, but it didn't work out.  It felt like I ran into him everywhere this time around and was surprised by how personable and accessible he was.  Even when he wasn't at a signing or a show event, he was hanging out in the booth .  I even saw him passing out copies of Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven King during her signing.


Then I was off to see Stacey Kade, who I have been Facebook and Twitter "friends" with since meeting her at RT back in 2012.  I loved her Ghost and the Goth and Project Paper Doll series, which are both YA.  738 Days is her first NA novel, which is scheduled to be released June 7th.  I will try my best to have my review up prior to the release.


That evening Mary and I attended the Fierce Reads blogger event at the Berghoff, which was definitely one of the highlight of our trip.  THANK YOU Fierce Reads for the invitation!!


Below is a picture Fierce Reads shared on their twitter page thanking the bloggers.  Mary and part of me made the photo, so I had to share it :)


This is about as crazy as it gets at a book event, so I will caption this one Authors Gone Wild.

From left to right are Kami Garcia, Marissa Meyer, Caleb Roehrig, and Leigh Bardugo.


Here I am with Marissa Meyer, the author of the Lunar Chronicles series.  I've read the first two books in the series (Cinder and Scarlet) and LOVE this series.  It amazes me how creative and imaginative she is.


I haven't read any of Leigh's books, but her The Grisha and Six of Crows series are both on my TBR list.  I think I'm going to start Six of Crows first since Flo gave it a 5 star review.


Caleb was definitely the life of the party.  The Book Nerds will be reading his debut novel, Last Seen Leaving, as our June read along.  The release date isn't until October, but we can't wait that long.  If you have the chance to meet him, keep an eye out for the little purple hat he is wearing.


Kami Garcia was a completely new author to me.  I looked her up on Goodreads and she has quite a few books and series currently available.  I have obviously been living in the dark.  We received a copy of The Lovely Reckless, which is a contemporary YA romance scheduled to be released October 4th.


When we left the party, we each received a bag containing Last Seen Leaving, The Lovely Reckless, Heartless by Marissa Meyer, and George Orwell's 1984 along with some other great swag.