Reviews written by Erin Laidley

Any review that I write for this book won’t be able to do it justice. It’s so hard to put into words the wide range of emotions that I felt while reading this and how deeply this book affected me without giving too much away, but here goes nothing. ...

Strands of Bronze and Gold begins quite slowly, taking almost the entire first half of the book to create the creepy and dangerous atmosphere that surrounds the story of Bluebeard. While part of it can be attributed to the fact that Bernard doesn’t allow Sophia to venture out of the...

A Monster Calls is an unflinchingly honest story. It talks about our darkest, innermost secrets and how we leave certain things unsaid because we're afraid that speaking them aloud will make them real. It speaks of guilt, responsibility, grief, and loss. Most importantly, it speaks about love, and just how...

The Sky Is Everywhere provides a thoughtful, emotional, authentic, and revealing portrayal of grief. It shows how grief can drive people together who were never really that close; how relationships can form as a crutch of sorts, allowing those involved to soak up each others grief as if it were...

The post-apocalyptic world that Ee has created is horrifying, brutal, and very compelling. The cities have crumbled, street gangs run rampant, and humans have resorted to any means necessary to survive. Angels roam the skies, but they’re nothing like the cherubic image that probably popped into your head when you...

If you became someone different every day, could you still maintain a measure of self-identity? What makes us love? Is it possible to unconditionally love someone who looks different every day? Those are just some of the philosophical complexities of love, relationships and identity that Levithan explores in Every Day....

After finally getting around to watching Dexter, I’ve been intrigued by serial killers and the inner workings of their minds. As sociopaths who are often very intelligent, they have a much different worldview than the average individual which makes them quite interesting to study. In I Hunt Killers, readers find...

I’m a sucker for anything that has the sales pitch “if you liked The Hunger Games, you’ll like this.” While it may seem like all new dystopian novels are being described in this way, Legend is one of the few that I believe truly lives up to this comparison. It’s...

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Grasping at Eternity, but it’s easy to say that it exceeded any expectations that I might have had. By the end of the first chapter I was intrigued by the concept, the hints of a mystery, and the writing style, and my...

I love revenge stories. There’s just something so liberating about exacting your revenge upon someone who has wronged you – or so I’d imagine, considering I’ve never actually followed through with any of my elaborate schemes. Of course, even with the best laid plans, revenge is often messy and involves...

SYLO is certainly an interesting read. Within the first five pages, a football player dies suddenly — and that’s only the beginning. Between mysterious viruses, a quarantined island, and an invasion by a branch of the navy that no one has ever heard of, Pemberwick Island has its fair share...

The Archived is one of the most unique books that I’ve ever read. Imagine a library, but instead of books sitting on the shelves, there are dead bodies with all of their memories preserved; this is the Archive. Of course, as with any library, the Archive has a group of...

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is heartbreaking from the start. The writing is angsty and, at times, downright depressing. Leonard is initially a difficult character to empathize with, though your heart will certainly break for him as he hands out gifts his four gifts and reveals bit by bit what led...

The Blemished takes place in the near future, where scientific advancements have created the “perfect” humans: no family histories of medical conditions or mental illnesses, and stunning good looks. These genetically enhanced humans, or GEMS, receive all of the advantages in life while the Blemished, who are “normal” humans, are...

At first glance (and for the first ~100 pages) this seems to be your typical “popular girl is forced to work with unpopular boy, they surprisingly fall for each other and, against all odds, manage to overcome adversity (social standings, football playing boyfriend, etc.) to get together” type of story....