All the Right Reasons by Bethany Mangle

Title: All the Right Reasons

Author: Bethany Mangle

Genre: Young Adult
Series: N/A

Hardcover, 304 pages 

Publication: February 15th 2022

Source: I received a review copy in exchange for a honest review.
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Cara Hawn’s life fell apart after her father cheated on her mother and got remarried to a woman Cara can’t stand. When Cara accidentally posts a rant about her father online, it goes viral—and catches the attention of the TV producers behind a new reality dating show for single parent families.

The next thing Cara and her mother know, they’ve been cast as leads on the show and are whisked away to sunny Key West where they’re asked to narrow a field of suitors and their kids down to one winning pair. All of this is outside of Cara’s comfort zone, from the meddling producers to the camera-hungry contestants, especially as Cara and her mother begin to clash on which suitors are worth keeping around. And then comes Connor.

As the son of a contestant, Connor is decidedly off-limits. Except that he doesn’t fit in with the cutthroat atmosphere in all the same ways as Cara, and she can’t get him out of her head. Now Cara must juggle her growing feelings while dodging the cameras and helping her mom pick a bachelor they both love, or else risk fracturing their family even more for the sake of ratings. Maybe there’s a reason most people don’t date on TV.

 

MY THOUGHTS

All the Right Reasons was pitched as The Bachelorette meets Gilmore Girls, and words have never been more accurate! Now, I’m not a reality show type gal but I absolutely adored this book. Cara and her mother Julia were a hoot. I definitely got the Gilmore Girl vibes; the humor and the mother-daughter relationship was spot on!

 I loved that Mangle didn’t go down the typical reality show path and instead we had Cara’s mother Julia as an older woman and divorcee lead picking from other divorcee/eligible men. But that’s not all, Cara joined her mom as she scoped out potential step-siblings. It was a literal family affair. While the whole premise of the novel is about Cara and her mother starting over, possibly with a new family; it was nice to see the main story focused on their mother-daughter relationship versus the relationships with the contestants. I loved it. It was a welcome change to see in a YA novel. Although, that’s not to say there isn’t any romantic relationships because there are!

 I loved everything about All the Right Reasons and enjoyed it from beginning to end. It was such a cute, all-round feel good read. There was a never a dull moment.Like most reality shows readers can expect drama, romance, shock and surprises. If I had to describe this book in one word it’d be: wholesome. I thought it was an unique and fun concept with such relatable and realistic characters. I highly recommend All the Right Reasons if you’re looking for a fun escapism or something that’ll make you laugh…you won’t regret it. Perfect for teens and adults!

 

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason

Title: How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse

Author: K. Eason
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy
Series: The Thorne Chronicles # 1
Hardcover, 416 pages
Publication: October 8, 2019 by Daw Books
Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.
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Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she'd inherit her father's throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.

Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.

When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination--how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is the perfect union of Science Fiction and Fairy-tale. Although to be absolutely fair, it’s more Science Fiction than Fairy-tale but great nonetheless. The story begins with a blessing and a curse. Rory Thorne is the first princess born in a long, long line of princes to the Thorne Consortium. On her name day, everyone in the multiverse came to witness the significant day…even the thirteen fairies whom no one has seen for thousands of years. Each fairy blessed/cursed Rory with a gift. Kindness, Beauty, courage through adversity and of course to see through illusions and lies. Apparently, it’s exactly what a princess needs.

From the opening chapter, I knew I was going to like Rory. Despite all odds and to everyone’s surprise she was born not only challenging the status quo but eventually changing it. Reading this far, you can guess that Rory is no ordinary princess. Only sixteen-years of age, Rory is more intelligent and skilled than most of her seniors. What makes this book stand out and superior than many novels nowadays is that it doesn’t resort to physical combat or flashy battle sequences. It doesn’t involve a ‘girl’ going on a beserker mission of revenge and bloodshed for power or greed. Rory utilized her mind and voice to outsmart the most respected arithmancers (magic-magician), regents and would-be kings and got shit done. No gimmicks here. I found it quite refreshing to see such an independent character with fortitude and cunning, using her mind and words to get what she wanted. The supporting cast was just as multifaceted and unique as our heroine. From Rory’s two trusted advisers Messer Rupert and Deme Grytt to her two bodyguards Thorsdottir and Zhang. Rupert and Grytt couldn’t be more polar opposite but their love for Rory made them an amazing team. I loved their banter. The same could be said for Rory’s bodyguards. I loved that it took equally intelligent women to guard Rory. Never send a man to do a woman’s job, amiright?

The world building was as scientific as they come. While there was what some would considered as ‘magic’ I felt like it leaned more towards technology-science. Messer Rupert is Rory’s Arithmancy teacher. Arithmancy is the ability to manipulate and hex codes. Whether it be that of a database, firewall security or one’s mind. There was a lot of code hacking going on to obtain confidential secrets, passwords and the disabling of cameras and bugs. You get the picture. I thought Eason’s world building was a breath of fresh air. She took a seemly simple idea and made it uniquely her own. I particular liked the aura reading aspect; it was an interestingly fun aspect of the novel.

Every year I discover a gem of a book and this year’s book is without a doubt How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse. Eason’s writing was flawless and I loved how she used the ‘inner monologue' technique, super clever. I thought the world building was well developed and easy to understand. But the best part of the book were the characters. If you’re looking for an extraordinary, nonconforming, out-of-the-box type heroine then look no further. I highly, highly recommend How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Universe. There are countless of novels that try to incorporate science fiction with fairy-tale in the market but none done as well as this book. Read this, you won’t regret it!

Lastly, there was little to no romance here. It's all about girl power!