In a Nutshell Reviews - Dark Side Edition

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights. Both these books are on the grittier side for me. They involve the drug world, violence, and even murder. Yes, very different from the fluff I normally like to ingest, yet, I enjoyed them both.

White Rabbit 
Caleb Roehrig
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

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.

I was really excited to see that Roehrig was releasing another YA mystery-thriller, because I had lots of love for his debut, Last Seen Leaving, and was looking forward to reading more of his work. Here's a round of applause to Roehrig for avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump with White Rabbit, which was a total page turner for me.

• Pro: Rufus was all sorts of good stuff. He was witty and sarcastic, but also slightly damaged due to some unfortunate life events, such as his "half" family making his life miserable, being outed, and his ex-boyfriend forgetting to tell him he broke up with him.  He was an underdog I could totally get behind. 
• Pro: As far as exes go, Sebastian was one worth fighting for. There was great chemistry between him and Rufus, and their romance was one that made me smile. This Scooby mission revealed a lot about a myriad of characters, but I was most pleased with the personal journey Bash went on and the resolution he reached. 
• Pro: Once again, Roehrig blended so many wonderful things together to deliver a great story. The main focus, of course, was the murder mystery, but there was also romance, self discovery, and the exploration of family dynamics. This was one of the things I really enjoyed about his last book, and enjoyed, once again, in this book. 
• Pro: The story had a lot of great twists and turns and head shaking moments. I loved the way the whole story was kept just out of reach. I would think I had a handle on the whole situation, and then something would be revealed, which sowed the seeds of doubt in my mind. I also loved how each new piece of information was accompanied by some sordid secret. I am always up for a mystery shrouded in delicious drama. 
• Pro: I am not going to pretend that the mystery was my favorite part, because if you know me, you know how much I love romance, and I was shipping Bash and Rufus the whole time. There were these flashbacks, which showed me the beginning of their romance, before Bash betrayed Rufus, and I wanted that back for them so badly. And yeah, there were swoons too. 
• Pro: This book was sort of dark, so I really appreciated the way Roehrig gave us some lighter moments as well as some really touching and heartwarming moments too. 
• Pro: Me and endings have a love-hate relationship, but I am putting this one in the love column. Lots of answers, lots of closure, and it left me satisfied and with a little bit of a smile on my face. 

Overall: A throughly enjoyable mashup of murder, mystery, suspense, romance and family drama, which made me laugh, rage, gasp, and swoon.

All Out of Pretty
Ingrid Palmer
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Creston Books
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

How do you know who to trust? Can you even trust yourself, your own instincts, and choices? Andrea, or "Bones" as her mom calls her, thinks of herself as smart, but intelligence only gets you so far and she finds herself nowhere near as smart or as tough as she thought.

"All Out of Pretty" is a gripping, thoughtful look at one girl's journey to figuring out what really matters to her and how to take care of herself in a world where there are no responsible adults for her to rely on. Do you use your looks or your brains? Your stubbornness or flexibility? How do you survive a drug-addict mother and her dealer boyfriend? Andrea's voice will pull you along from the first sentence of this emotional roller-coaster of a book.

This book took me into a world of drugs and violence, and chronicled one girl's attempt to maintain those things she valued, while trying to survive her circumstances.

• Pro: Andrea was one of the greatest strengths of this book. Even when she was making poor choices, and I was shouting for her to STOP!, I still couldn't abandon her, because I understood that it was desperation driving her decisions, and it made me sad, filled me with rage, and appealed to my empathetic side. 
• Pro: Gram was a wonderful and beautiful person, and I was so brokenhearted when Andrea lost her, because when she lost Gram, she lost her world and the future she was determined to hold onto. 
• Con: This as a really tough read. Maybe it wouldn't be as realistic, but I wish there had been a few more bright spots to even out all the darkness.  
• Pro/Con: Andrea's mother was the most deplorable and selfish person. I absolutely detested her. So, I guess Palmer did a great job creating that hot mess of a character. 
• Pro: There are some scenes, which had my heart pounding. I was really invested in Andrea, and it was harrowing to read some of the passages, and helplessly stand by as she was forced to suffer though some harrowing situations.  
• Con: We DID get some closure with the ending, and I was left feeling like things were moving in the right direction, but I would have liked a bigger jump ahead or something. I really wanted to know how Andrea made out. 
• Pro: One super bright spot in this book was the Masterson family. They offered some comfort for Andrea, became her allies, and I just loved them.
• Pro: I mean this in an "I can't look away" type of thing - this book reminded me of one of those Lifetime movies. You know the ones, where you are looking at the dark side of things, and thanking your lucky stars that it's not your life. It's disturbing, but at the same time, so compelling.   

Overall: An emotional, dark, and gritty look at the affects of addiction, and the lengths some must go to in order to survive that world.

** ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Have you read any of these books?

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