The Reader Bee: Paula Stokes

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Review: Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18009950-liars-inc

For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters. (Goodreads)

Liars, Inc. is the second book that I’ve read by Paula Stokes, the first being The Art of Lainey, which I really enjoyed. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of mystery Paula would come up with in this story, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

Max was an interesting main character. He’s far from perfect, and has done some things in the past and present that he’s not exactly proud of. Not only that, he’s super easily influenced by his best friends Preston and Parvati. When he and his friends start up Liars, Inc. as a way to bring in extra cash, the lying part comes easily to him. When his best friend comes up missing, with clues pointing to Max as the main suspect, he still can’t stop the lies. But there was something about Max, something that makes you like him despite all the lying and imperfections. He was definitely one of the more interesting characters I’ve read about before. I really enjoyed that the book was told from a male characters point of view. I feel like I do get to read this very often, and it’s always so interesting to see such a different perspective.

I loved the murder mystery storyline for the book. It was definitely intriguing! I figured out one of the biggest mysteries pretty early on the story, which makes me proud of my super awesome instincts. (Ha!) However, the twists and turns kept coming as I flew through the pages, and I was surprised when at the end I was only partially right about the mystery.

Overall; Paula Stokes definitely has another hit on her hands with Liars, Inc.! The book definitely kept me entertained, and the mystery was full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing about what has happened, and what will happen. Add this book to your to-read list today!

Monday, May 26, 2014

Review: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16068910-the-art-of-lainey

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be? (Godoreads)

I was really looking forward to starting The Art of Lainey as it has gotten lots of great reviews lately, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. This book definitely did not disappoint, and was a great book to kick of my summer break!

When Lainey’s boyfriend dumps her in the middle of a crowded café, all of future plans that she had made for the summer and her senior year drift away. Determined not to let him go without a fight, Lainey and her best friend Bianca set out to win him back, with the help of a book called The Art of War.

To be honest, I didn’t really think that I was going to like Lainey when I first met her in the novel. She was popular and pretty shallow, and there were times in the novel when I wanted to shake some sense into her. Thankfully she grew throughout the book, and I really started to like the person that she was becoming. I really adored the relationship between her and her best friend Bianca. Even when Lainey was being insane, Bianca was there for her. She was a really great character and such a great friend as well. Their plan to win the boyfriend back was both brilliant and hilarious.

Micah was definitely the highlight of the story for me. He was such a great character, and he was so perfect for Lainey, even though it took her a while to catch onto this. I loved the ‘dates’ that they went on together, some of the places that Micah took her to were insane! The thing that I love most about Micah was that he was just such a caring and all around good guy and you don’t get to see that very often.

The storyline for the book was a lot of fun, and at times, very relatable. (Who hasn’t acted totally crazy after a breakup?) This book is definitely a quick read as well, when I actually had time to sit and read, I pretty much flew through the pages. The romance in the book is really sweet, and the author took time to build it throughout the novel. No insta-love here and that was a pretty refreshing.

The only thing that I really didn’t care for in the book was the teenage drinking. I’m not a fan of drinking in general, but even less a fan of teens drinking, and especially driving after drinking. This was not the main character, but another one of her friends who I didn’t really care for. I am hoping that this part of the novel was just included so that Lainey would finally open her eyes to see what a bad person this friend was, but then Lainey goes on to do almost the same thing, just without the actual driving.

Overall, I found The Art of Lainey to be a really cute read. It will be a great book to add to your summer reading list! I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by this author in the future!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20705736-infinite-repeat

Don't forget to add Infinite Repeat,
a novella from Micah's POV, to your reading list!
Out August 5th!

Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble