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So, Mid-July batch here. And, clock for clock, the best bunch of the month!

Heir, Apparently by Kara McDowell
The Family Experiment by John Marrs
Grief in the Fourth Dimension: A Novel by Jennifer Yu
It’s Only a Game by Kelsea Yu
Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner & Brittany Cavallaro

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Clik here to view. Heir, Apparently by Kara McDowell
Series: The Prince and the Apocalypse #2
Published by Wednesday Books on July 9, 2024
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
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An American teen learns she may have accidentally married the King of England, only to end up stranded on a tropical island with him in this highly-anticipated sequel to The Prince & The Apocalypse.

Freshman year is stressful enough without accidentally being married to the King of England. Of course, Wren Wheeler can’t tell her Northwestern classmates about that; after surviving a narrowly-averted apocalypse over the summer, everyone’s had enough excitement for one lifetime. Wren knows she needs to move on from Theo, but she can’t forget the look in his eyes when he left her on that island in Greece—and also, he took her dog.

When an ill-fated attempt to rescue Comet the Apocalypse Dog turns into a chemistry-fueled reunion with Theo that’s caught by the paparazzi, Wren finds herself under the royal spotlight. Suddenly, she’s a problem for “the firm” to solve, and in order to be protected from the rabid press, she’ll have to fly back to London with Theo. Along for the ride are Naomi and Brooke, as well as Theo's siblings, including Henry, the brother he's spent his life being compared to. But because the universe can’t let these two maybe-newlyweds have one conversation in peace, their plane goes down over the Atlantic, crashing on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere.

Stranded with no sign of rescue, the group will have to band together against poisonous animals, catastrophic injuries, a brotherly rivalry, and an ill-timed volcano if they’re going to make it out alive. And, scariest of all, Wren and Theo will have to face their feelings for one another and decide what they want their futures to look like—and if that future will be heartbreak, or happily ever after.

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I devoured The Prince and the Apocalypse last year, and was thrilled to hear there’d be a sequel. I wondered though, how could anything outdo the apocalypse? I needn’t have wondered, because Kara McDowell managed to outdo herself for sure! How’d she do it, you ask? By adding survival into the mix!

I won’t say much because A) This is a sequel, and B) It’s more fun going in without too much knowledge. But this one certainly upped the ante, which I did not think possible, because again, the first book was about the actual end of the world. So, bravo, really. The characters are as wonderful as ever- and I liked that we got to spend so much more time with some of the more secondary characters! And of course, seeing our main characters interact with them was awesome too.

As with book one, the charm and banter and humor offsets some very dire circumstances, and makes the story so very readable. In fact, this was yet another July book that I read from start to finish without moving- I simply could not put it down until I knew how it would shake out! There are some fabulous twists, and it ends in a very satisfying way, and you need this series in your life, is what I am saying!

Bottom Line: This is such an epic sequel/conclusion, incredibly exciting and charming in equal parts.

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Clik here to view. The Family Experiment by John Marrs
Published by Hanover Square Press on May 9, 2024
Pages: 384
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
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From the acclaimed author of The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and brilliant speculative thriller about families: real and virtual.

Some families are virtually perfect…

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby.

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How have I not read all the books set in this world yet!? In fairness, I own them both, and I didn’t actually know they were connected to this one- and you don’t have to read them first, either! Though they’re set in the same world, I was completely fine reading this guy as a standalone- but I absolutely will be reading the rest as soon as I can! (Also- the synopsis doesn’t tell you this, but Passengers is set in this world too- and there are some Easter eggs and callbacks for all the books, though like I said, you can definitely read them on their own as you can see by my rating!)

In this one, parents are competing for a chance to basically win money for IVF/fertility treatments by going on this reality show and raising AI babies at warp speed.  And yes, it is absolutely as batshit as it sounds, in the very best way! The six families are of various makeups: there is a gay couple, a single father, a few hetero-presenting couples, and they all have various motivations and backstories that will become quite pertinent to the story.

Even though there are quite a few people to keep track of, it really wasn’t all that difficult. One couple is eliminated fairly early, and so it’s just five to really balance. There are so many twists and turns that I could not put the book down, I wanted all the answers. And the whole concept is so wild, but also so frighteningly plausible (which is why I love a John Marrs book, honestly) that I was next-level compelled to keep turning the pages.

Bottom Line: Another incredibly twisty, incredibly thought provoking novel from Marrs!

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Clik here to view. Grief in the Fourth Dimension: A Novel by Jennifer Yu
Published by Amulet Books on July 16, 2024
Pages: 344
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
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A moving and unique speculative YA novel about the afterlife and the unexpected connections that can be made in death

In life, high school classmates Caroline Davison and Kenny Zhou existed in separate universes—Caroline in one of softball practices and family dinners; Kenny in one of NASA photo books and late-night shifts at his parents’ Chinese restaurant. But after their deaths, they find themselves thrown together as roommates in a mysterious white room—one that seems to exist outside of time and space, shows them their loved ones’ lives on a large hi-def TV, and grants their wishes with a sardonic sense of humor.

As Caroline and Kenny watch life continue to unfold back on Earth, they realize they can influence events through radio signals, psychic mediums, and electromagnetic interference. In their efforts to console their families, they also start to understand the tragic depth of how their lives and deaths were connected and how to help their families—and themselves—heal from the losses.

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This was such a charming and heartwrenching story! As you can tell by the title, this book does include a lot of talk of grief and death and such. But it does so in a really unintimidating way, which, as someone with a lot of death anxiety, I appreciated. We meet Caroline and Kenny as they first encounter each other “on the other side”, which is to say, in a bizarre, blank white room with a screen that shows them snippets of things happening with their family and friends back on Earth. Or the Realm of the Living, or whatever.

Luckily, they manage to zhuzh up the room, and begin to tune in to their families whenever the magic TV lets them. They are able to see the aftermaths of their deaths, even though they happened months apart (time works differently in The White Room, okay?), and they even find that maybe they can have some effect on the choices their loved ones make. They also have to face their own thoughts on how things ended. Caroline is angry that a car accident robbed her of her life, which is certainly understandable, but will retribution really help her or her family grieve? Kenny, for his part, is worried about his immigrant parents, and dealing with financial problems, as well as the loss of their only son.

There is a lot more happening here, including a lot of complex relationships among the characters. Even from The White Room, the characters have to work through their relationships with those left behind, as well as each other. Caroline and Kenny came from very different worlds, and as such, have quite  different perspectives. But in order to really help their loved ones, they may need to understand and empathize with one another.

I did have one minor qualm, and that is that I do wish that the mental health piece had been explored a bit more. I understand, in a sense, why it wasn’t, but I had hoped it would have been a bit more fleshed out. What was discussed was handled well though!

Bottom Line: This was a very sweet, sometimes sad,  and ultimately hopeful story about love overcoming time and space, essentially.

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Clik here to view. It's Only a Game by Kelsea Yu
Published by Bloomsbury YA on July 9, 2024
Pages: 352
Format:ARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review
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In this twisty, fast-paced YA thriller, a dangerous game becomes all too real when Marina and her friends are framed for murder.

When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her-not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can't resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.

Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. Whoever killed him plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game. A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina's worked so hard to build…. A game that she might not survive.

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This was a very intense, high stakes thriller, and as it turns out, it is not just a game. Just saying. I quite enjoyed this one, as it is action-packed and as I mentioned, the stakes are certainly high. Marina and her friends soon become part of the very game that led to their friendships, and whoever is behind the game has now threatened not just Marina and the other players, but their families and loved ones, too.

I am going to tell you the two things that I struggled with upfront: 1) The characters’ names are referenced as both their in-game player nicknames, and their regular names. And I kept getting them confused, I kind of wish they just stuck to regular names, but alas. And 2) The in-game stuff kind of went over my head because I am just not really into games of that kind. That said, I was still able to mostly understand what was going on regardless, so these are not big issues.

There are a lot of secrets, and a lot of great twists in this story. We know from the start that we know very little about Marina’s backstory, so we get to uncover that as the book progresses, but there are a ton of other secrets to unfurl along the way, too. There is great action, but also downtime for character and relationship development too. I also loved that it did not feel too “safe”- I felt the tension throughout, and like anything could (and might!) happen at any given time.

Bottom Line: Exciting, fast paced, and full of twists and secrets, this was a very solid and entertaining debut!

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Clik here to view. Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner, Brittany Cavallaro
Published by Quill Tree Books on July 9, 2024
Pages: 400
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Edelweiss
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Two young artists have a chance meeting on the last night of summer arts camp in this YA novel in verse and dialogue cowritten by acclaimed authors Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro.

Jude loves photography, and he’s good at it, too. Between his parents’ divorce and his anxiety, being behind a camera is the only time his mind is quiet.

Florence is confronting the premature end of her dance career as a degenerative eye disease begins to steal her balance. She’s having a hard time letting go.

The two meet at Sunrise Night, their sleepaway art camp’s dusk-to-dawn closing celebration, and decide to take a chance on each other. Their one rule: No contact for a year after the sun has risen. Over the course of three Sunrise Nights, will Florence and Jude find a deeper connection and learn who they are—and who they could be together?

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Ah, where to begin with Sunrise Nights? Well first of all, you know the vibes you get during summer nights? This book is literally those vibes in written form. It is lovely. And felt very relatable- though I have never been in any of the situations the characters find themselves in, I still totally understood and related to their emotions and feelings. Admittedly, I worried a bit because what the heck do I know about art camp? But frankly, dancing is a sport just as much as an art, and who doesn’t love photography? That is to say, it was completely fine!

And I just adored Jude and Florence. They’re both dealing with their own stuff when they happen to meet at the “Sunrise Night” bonfire at their camp. Neither has any real intention of staying, but they start talking, and just… click. And so begins their story. Honestly I don’t even want to say much about it, except that it is lovely. I think because they are strangers, they both let themselves be vulnerable and open up to the other, since they’ve nothing to lose.

Along the way, there are all kinds of misunderstandings, hilariously funny moments, epic banter, tears, laughter, embarrassment, regret, heartache… basically, this book covers all the emotions, and it covers them well. Both characters, over the course of multiple summers, also go through some pretty serious life changes, have to make major decisions, etc. And sometimes, they’ll make some wrong ones that will be frustrating, but then… well, then you remember that people make mistakes, and it’s how you come back from them that matters.

Bottom Line: Beautifully breathtaking, just like a summer night.

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Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Let us chat about them!  

The post Reviews in a Minute: Mid July Jewels appeared first on It Starts at Midnight.