Book Review | Stars Around My Scars: The Annotated Poetry of Taylor Swift

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐3 1/2 

I really had to argue with myself about how to rate this one. The cover and the title are both so gorgeous, but there were some issues I can't ignore. Some of the annotations didn't fit with what we already know about the songs and the deep Taylor-lore that comes along with a nearly 20-year career. Some of the notes were also a bit of a stretch, but there was enough that made sense to keep me going.

The author does a deep dive into the poetry of Taylor Swift - at this point, let's call it what it is. She takes us line-by-line througha massive amount of songs - forty-six total, spanning all eleven albums. These songs are chosen carefully; they are among the most-loved and also the ones that cause Swifties the most grief in never-ending debates about the content and subject.

Each song is given its space to shine as the author takes us through the development and structure of each. The notes in the margins indicate literary references (TayTay LOVES literature. Check out this review on her many, many inspirations) and poetic techniques. Unfortunately poetry is not really my thing, so I had a crash-course in what some of the terms meant because certain ones were unfamiliar to me. She touches on the numerous easter eggs that we've come to know and love from Taylor, as well as cross-song connections and themes that flow from one song or album to the next.

Following the text of the song itself and notes, the author provides an in-depth analysis on the meaning and symbolism of each, and this is where I disagreed with some of the interpretations.

I loved the format, but felt the text was too small and the colors too light for those who may have issues with sight. Editing is one of my favorite things, so I loved the chaotic scribbles in the margins, the arrows connecting concepts, etc. I could see though how it would be overwhelming for some readers.

Overall, depsite some of the issues I found, I think this book is still of great value to Swifties - and weirdos like me who just love words. The text is impressive and the author clearly knows what she is talking about in terms of analysis of Taylor's songs as poetry. Taylor's work truly is deep and thoughtful in so many instances, and it is art. What she has created in the last twenty years is incredible and I am so eager to see what kind of album she will create next.

Highly recommended for Swifties, also recommeneded for those with open minds who want to see what the big deal is about Taylor's lyrical genius.

NetGalley ARC | A Place for Vanishing

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Libby and her sister Vivi return with their mother to her childhood home seeking a fresh start. Libby was recently diagnosed with Bipolar III, brought about by a tragic, shocking event. The family will have to navigate this new normal while settling into their new home that is not what it seems - or maybe it is EXACTLY what it seems.

Look, I hate bugs. Absolutely hate them and they are yucky. So the fact that various insects play a huge role in the book in numerous ways was not a lot of fun for me. But I stuck with it and I am SO glad I did because this book is fucking fiiiiire.

Libby's mom is content to live in blissful ignorance about the strange goings-on, even as Libby uncovers more and more information that makes it clear this is not the easy fresh start they need. Rumors abound regarding the house, mainly about the many disappearances that have occurred in its 100-year history, and the masked seances the original owners supposedly held on the grounds, surrounded by beautiful, impossibly blue roses.

I loved how the author developed the house practically as its own character. This created such a sense of foreboding and tension throughout the novel because there is no escape from it, this is their home now. The atmosphere created is suffocating at times, and I couldn't stop reading because I had to know what was coming next. The eeriness of the atmosphere made Libby's discoveries about the house's history all the more sinister.

Given Libby's bipolar diagnosis, mental health can't help but play a role in the story. I feel like this was well-done and we see the impact of the disorder on decisions Libby makes throughout the story, going through the cycles of hypomanic and depressive episodes. This does make Libby and unreliable narrator at times, but I don't think this is done in a malicious way; it was honest. While I was frustrated with Libby's mom at times, in the end it is clear why she made the decisions she did.

The cast of characters is small, which enabled fantastic character devlopment and we really got to know each individual. In addition to Libby, her mom, and sister, we meet Finn - the boy next door, so to speak, who has his own reasons for wanting to uncover the truth about The House of Masks.

The story progressed quickly, the atmosphere intense, the house threatening to consume everyone. I could not put this book down and it was a well-crafted story from start to finish.

Highly recommended.

Stacking the Shelves #339

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc.

I've added a section to indicate if a book is from my TBR. Maybe that will shame me into focusing on the TBR because so far nothing else has worked 🤣

NetGalley ARCs

Book Club Pick

Library Treasures

(From the TBR)

Happy Reading!
Sarah

NetGalley ARC | The Merciless King of Moore High

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay, so I really insanely, absurdly love the Teen Killers Club trilogy. Like, so much that I will ask for more, even when we do not yet have the rest of the story for Merciless King.

Lily Sparks is one of my fave authors and I will read everything she ever writes. She is massively creative and a fantastic writer. TKC was realistic enough that, especially given the climate of our country right now, you could absolutely believe that the government would use something like the Wylie-Stanton to find the psychopaths and put them in this joke of a White House "aministration".

Merciless King, on the other hand, is straight-up dystopian. That's not my usual genre, but I love this one so freaking much.

Nearly a year ago all of the adults morphed into ginormous bloodthirsty monster dragon-y things. Our main character, Kay, has spent the last nine months barricaded inside her high school with fellow students. Life is really difficult at Jefferson; they're scared, they're starving and miserable, and the Student Council collectively makes decisions together on ideas presented at assemblies.

When Kay, a memeber of the SC, finds out a secret that would greatly disrupt life in the walls of their school, she is exiled. Straight-up just taken outside in the middle of the night and left basically as a snack for whatever these hell-creatures are that the adults have turned into.

Kay is surprised and grateful to be rescued by a raiding party of cheerleaders from Jefferson's crosstown rival, Moore High. No one at Jefferson ever thought about there being any other survivors.  Not only are the kids holed up inside Moore surviving though, they are thriving. No one is starving, and they are legit living as though they're back in the middle ages, complete with a king's court, rival factions, and serious shadowy intrigue. Life is still hard and violent, but they've made it this far and don't intend to change any time soon.

King Max does not trust Kay and she has to prove that's she's not there for nefarious purposes on behalf of Jefferson. Max rules with an iron fist and his word is final. There is no talking things out, no assemblies or joint decision-making. Kay has to learn to navigate this new world, which involves expeditions to slay the monsters, minding her own business, and not getting involved in the political intrigues.

Without giving anything away, I can say that she fails miserably at most of those things.

Something Sparks excels at is jumping into the action right away. The book literally begins basically as described in the summary. It can be jarring because you have no idea what is going on when you're dropped in the middle of the action, but the way she crafts her stories, everything comes together and you find out piece by piece what you need to know, when you need to know it. It is crucial that you do not get too attached to any characters, because Sparks has no qualms about killing off someone if it serves a purpose and furthers the story. There was one death in particular that was really hard for me and I never want to talk about it again or I will cry.

Sparks also excels at creating a massively diverse cast of characters. There are a lot of people to remember here, but she gives them life and they are unique. I never felt like someone was a cardboard cutout or a caricature, just there to be a body and fill the space.

Much like in TKC, it is sometimes hard to know who to trust. This is for a variety of reasons - the factions at Max's court, the reality of their situation now that all the adults are gone, and the things characters are willing to do to survive. There is not always a clear-cut good guy or bad guy. It's all shades of gray here and that's okay. You don't know how you will react in a given situation until you're forced to, and Kay has to learn how to deal with that.

It took me a matter of hours to read this one. It's brutal and violent and traumatic and even so, these kids keep surviving and moving forward and doing what they think is right, for the good of the group. The book is simply impossible to put down as characters shift their loyalty and we find out secrets that were meant to stay hidden.

Though the story concludes as well as can be expected, there's room for so much more. I would love to see these characters again and I hope that Sparks decides on the best way to get future stories of Moore and Jefferson to her eagerly waiting fans.

Highly, highly recommended.

Book Review | Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of those cases that will haunt me forever. I so badly want to know what happened on that cold February night in 1959 on Dead Mountain to send nine young adults who were experienced hikers cutting their way out of their tents, half-clothed, mostly shoeless, into the freezing night. When they did not return home at the expected time, eventually a search party would find their bodies about a mile from their campsite. Some had varying sign of violent injuries (including 3rd degree burns, singed hair, chunks of flesh missing, etc), the majority died of hypothermia; some alone, some together, but all 100% dead with elevated levels of radiation on clothing.

It's not as though Russia would be very forthcoming with any information or details, so unfortunately I think everything we already know is all we will ever have. There is quite a bit of research here and the author uses contemporary sources - including journals and photos of the hikers. There is also some access to government records, but probably not everything. The author even retraced the path taken over sixty years ago, and interviewed those connected to the case - including the only survivor, Yuri Yudin, who had to turn back due to a medical issue.

There are numerous theories about what occurred on the mountain that night, that vary from logical to outlandish, and everything in between. Some insist there was an avalanche or some kind of violent wind patterns that created some kind of massive snow tornado but more dangerous. Then there are those who beleve it had to do with aliens (it's almost never aliens). Some think those native to the region were responsible for the deaths, or that some kind of wild animal attacked. Perhaps they witnessed something they were not meant to, or Russia was testing some new secret weapon and they got caught in the crossfire, and so on and so on. I can only imgine how the never-ending theories frustrated and hurt their families, in addition to the crushing weight of simply not knowing.

The author moves back and forth in time, telling their story through the journals and photos left behind in 1959, and then in the years he spent researching and retracing their final steps. The journals and photos were crucial for the hikers; all but one were students at the Ural Polytechnic Institute and members of the school's hiking club. Daily they documented their activities, which would help prove they were prepared and qualified for their Grade III certs. While nothing in the journals or photos show anything amiss or give any clues as to what killed them, we see them in their last days, enjoying themselves and having fun even as they're working extremely hard.

I would not necessarly call this the 'untold' story of the events, though his theory is the first time I've come across this idea; like some of the other logical ones, it makes sense. After considering everything known about the mountain and the hikers, Eichar posits that infrasound (low-frequeny sound waves) generated by the curve of the mountains and the high winds as they passed over is the culprit. These sound waves, according to his theory, could have caused physical discomfort and led to irrational behavior due to the mental distress and feelings of panic.

In the last chapter the author presents his theory in narrative form, describing what the events of the evening could have looked like that led to nine healthy, strong, young people disappearing into the night, completely unprepared for the elements. I feel like this was written in a respectful way, despite it being speculation.

In the end, all we know is that eight men and two women started the journey to earn their Grade III hiking certification. Yudin survived only because he could not continue the hike due to a sciatica flare-up. As painful as sciatic nerves are when they are raging, this ultimately saved his life. The other nine continued on, and were never seen alive again.

Highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | Thin Air

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a lot of fun and quite a roller coaster ride - as long as you don't think too hard about it. With YA thrillers and murder mysteries there always has to be some suspension of belief for any aspect, and this book is no different, but it was still a great locked-room type read - technically there is more than one room, they're on a private jet, but you get what I mean.

Twelve contestants are aboard an eight hour flight to Paris from the US, on their way to participate in a contest that comes with a major cash prize. Unfortunately for eleven of them, one has decided to better their odds by killing off the competition.

Emily is our main character and there were definitely times I had to remind myself she is a teenager and teenagers often make really stupid decisions. She is there to compete because the money would be a godsend for her and her mother, who are living in poverty. The money would provide for her to go to college, and a better life for both of them.

Once the contestants start dying, the game becomes real and Emily has to decide who to trust - including her BFF's boyfriend, who also made the cut to compete. Loyalties are ever-changing as more information comes to light and there were plenty of twists and turns that even had me guessing. I've read so many of this genre that it is hard to be surprised anymore, but I am happy to report that this one kept me guessing for a while. Emily had plenty of secrets of her own as well that gradually are forced to the surface.

With twelve characters it was hard to get to know all of them well, becuase the author had to also balance that with keeping the killer's identity hidden. Still, I did not feel like they were flat or caricatures. There was enough to differentiate most of them, and we get to know a few pretty well.

The whole thing felt very claustrophobic, which is I suppose it the point, and it was done very well. The tension and stress was palpable throughout and the pacing contributed well to this. I tend to read fiction pretty quickly and this was no exception, because I had to know who the killer was.

Recommended.

Tackling the TBR | Week 23 | Jun 15 - June 21, 2025

Here we go!

This is year SIX of Tackling the TBR. When I started this mess  I was well over 5,000 books on the TBR, so to be where I am now is pretty incredible.

I will post on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and last day of the month.

Previous Week's TBR Total: 1,894

On My 'Currently Reading' Shelf
(This does not mean I am reading all of these at once. As soon as I get a book from the library, NetGalley, a publisher/author/marketer, or - for not much longer - Prime, I put in on my 'Currently Reading' shelf. Yes, I know I have a problem. No, I don't want to do anything about it.)

Books Read

Books DNFed: 

Books Added to TBR: 0

Books Removed from TBR: 11

Duplicates Removed: 1

New TBR Total: 1,862

Happy Reading!
Sarah