Gateway Reviews

WAVELENGTH Everyone in the world knows Admirer, a pop duo that's taken the world by storm. As one half of Admirer, Alexander Ash is one of the most famous teenagers in the world. But when the other half of this duo gets into some legal trouble, Alexander Ash vanishes... and Sasha is born. Sasha has wanted a way out of the spotlight for years. The only thing that saved their sanity was the fact that Alexander Ash only appears in public in a mask. With their brother on trial, the pressure to unmask was too much. It's the perfect time to vanish. Setting themself up in some nowhere midwestern town, Sasha plans to finish senior year in peace. But their plans for a quiet senior year falter when they meet Wavelength, a local alt-rock band with a lead singer right up Sasha's alley. Lillian has been struggling to keep Wavelength together even since she broke up with her ex-girlfriend (who's also an ex-bandmember). Inviting Sasha to be...

THE TRANSITION Hunter's life is finally coming together. After years of fighting to transition, he's finally convinced his father to sign off on top surgery. He's one step closer to living in a skin he feels comfortable in. Except now, just days into his recovery, he's been attacked by some wild animal. When his dog doesn't come back in from a potty break, Hunter goes into the yard to investigate only to be bitten and dragged off into the trees. If his best friend Gabe hadn't been there to chase the beast off, he would have been a goner for sure. Hunter doesn't like hospitals, and he definitely doesn't like hospital bills. After disinfecting the bite, he decides its best to wait until he absolutely can't anymore. He's still mostly intact. But... something isn't right. Something is, in fact, very very wrong. He's changing... and his other best friend, a horror aficionado named Mars, knows just w...

HELLO SUNSHINE Alex is missing. Alex is missing, and Noah is devastated. He never should have left for Bible camp. Maybe if he had stayed in town, Alex wouldn't have had a breakdown. Maybe their secret relationship would have been enough to keep him together. Alex is missing, and Sky is determined to find out what happened. They might have drifted apart since childhood, but she still feels responsible. Alex is missing, and Izzy feels guilty. She knew something was wrong, and she didn't tell anyone until it was too late. Alex is missing, and Jamie is angry. He's angry at his twin for disappearing, for running away without leaving any clues behind. He's angry at himself for not noticing that Alex was struggling the same way their mother was before she died. And he's angry at his mother and the "demons" she claimed were plaguing her. He's angry, but not at the demons... Because demons aren't real, right? ...

New month, new books for our TBRs! September brings a touch of #spooky on the air, but October begins spooky season for real. Don't worry, I have some properly spooky book reviews lined up for this month. But October also launches the Fall publishing season, and there are a lot of books to celebrate this month. Here are some of the less-than-spooky books I'll be adding to my TBR. The Butterfly's Sting Abbie Harlow From the Publisher: Never again. That’s what seventeen-year-old Bo Clark has promised her two younger siblings ever since they were put in separate foster homes―a situation that nearly turned deadly for her little brother, and that they have vowed never to repeat. Bo will do anything to keep that promise. Even if it means enduring the abuse of Uncle Jack, their new guardian. When Jack discovers that Bo has a talent for boxing, he signs her up for an underground fight club tournament, which co...

SPLIT THE SKY Lala Russell is tired. She's tired of fighting for justice. She's tired of rallies and hashtags. She's tired of the Confederate flag being flown at her elite private school. She's tired of the "debates" about where she belongs. She'd rather not think about any of this and focus instead on the musical talent that's going to launch her out of this town for good. But in a sundown town like Davey, Texas, nobody gets to rest. Especially not a girl like Lala, who has inherited the gift of foresight from her grandmother. Not a girl like Lala, who's just had a vision of another black boy being shot... and the wave of protests that break out afterwards. Lala didn't want to see this, and she definitely doesn't want it to come true. But some things are set in stone. And some visions aren't meant to be tampered with. THOUGHTS Marie Arnold ...

HAZELTHORN Sometimes Evander forgets he's actually alive and not just some other forgotten piece of furniture in the vast halls of Hazelthorn estate. He's been living here, tucked away in a dark and dusty wing, ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian Byron Lennox-Hall years ago. And by now, Evander knows the rules: He can't leave the estate, not while he's still healing from the near-fatal injury he suffered. He can't go into the gardens, where that injury happened. And he can't ever be left with Byron's charming grandson Laurie, not since Laurie was the one who tried to kill him. But when Byron suddenly dies, Evander's life is flipped upside down. Because Evander has inherited everything, the estate and the fortune and all it entails. And Laurie has received nothing. And with Lennox-Halls emerging from the woodwork looking for a slice of Evander's prize, Evander isn't sure who...