Dungeon Crawler Carl

 Audible Original Fiction by Matt Dinniman

https://www.audible.com

What if aliens took over our planet and killed most of the people, and then pitted the survivors against one another in a real-life role-playing video game, broadcast all over the galaxy for their entertainment?

Then you get Dungeon Crawler Carl, a crazily entertaining story of a human and his cat trapped in an underground world and trying to survive.

This was an exciting story that kept me guessing, and it had some very funny parts too!

I also listened to from Audible Originals: Don't Let Me Go

The Knockout Queen

 Fiction by Rufi Thorpe

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is about Bunny Lampert, an amazing girl who is tall and strong, beautiful and rich, but also insecure and nearly friendless. But Bunny does have one real friend, a boy named Michael who lives next door, relying on the tenuous goodwill of his aunt. Michael is fascinated by Bunny and cares deeply about being a good friend to her, but he is also quite preoccupied with staying safely in the closet in order to keep his place to live.

This is an incredibly good character story that makes the reader truly invested in both Bunny and Michael. I loved it, but it also was pretty heartbreaking.

I also read by this author: Margo's Got Money Troubles

The Rest of Her Life

 Fiction by Laura Moriarty

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this book, 18-year-old Kara accidentally hits a pedestrian on her way home from the last day of her senior year of high school. The victim, a girl named Bethany who is two years behind Kara at the same school, is killed instantly. Also instantly, Kara's life is forever changed.

The story is told from the perspective of Kara's mother Leigh, and the focus is on the relationships in the family, and the relationships between the family and the small town they live in. It's a very good character story that gives the reader a lot to think about.

I also read by this author: The Chaperone

If We Make it Home

 Fiction by Christina Suzann Nelson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a good story about a group of college friends who reunite after 25 years and then inexplicably go on a survival trip together in Oregon wilderness. I liked the characters a lot.

I also read by this author: What Happens Next

The Eden Pruitt Series

The Fabrication of Eden Pruitt, The Aberration of Eden Pruitt, The Revelation of Eden Pruitt, and The Retribution of Eden Pruitt
Fiction by K.E. Ganshert

https://www.amazon.com https://www.amazon.com 

https://www.amazon.com https://www.amazon.com

This is a fast-paced thriller of a series with a lot of plot twists. Book one introduces us to Eden Pruitt, who has about to turn eighteen as has just moved from California to Iowa to start her senior year. But on her first day at her new school a bunch of weird things happen, culminating in the disappearance of her parents and her discovery that she has (sort-of) super powers. Plus she's met a hot boy named Cassian, who could be a helpful friend or a dangerous enemy...

I don't want to give away too much because things change throughout the books, and almost everything after the first few chapters of book one would be a spoiler. This is a good series from an author I had never heard of.

I Have Some Questions For You

 Fiction by Rebecca Makai

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1995, Bodie Kane was a senior at Granby School, a posh New Hampshire academy for wealth adolescents. Bodie had always felt like an outsider at Granby, because she was not a rich kid; she was a charity case with a tragic family backstory she kept hidden as much as possible. 

Then her former roommate Thalia was murdered near the end of the school year. A suspect was caught and convicted quickly, but doubts about his guilt persisted after his incarceration, especially when Dateline did a special on the case ten years later. Online speculation about the murder persisted for many years.

Now it's 2018 and Bodie is a podcaster. She has been invited to come back to Granby and teach a two-week course, and she thinks maybe now is the time to look into Thalia's murder for real. Since she's always felt she's too close to the case to do a podcast on it herself, Bodie manipulates a student to take on the subject. Will they uncover the truth?

This book had an interesting premise and some decent characters but it was way too long and slow. It did pick up during the last third of the book.

Soulmate

Fiction by Sally Hepworth

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Pippa and Gabe live with their two little daughters on the Australian coast in a house with a breathtaking view. Unfortunately, they also live right next to cliff which is a popular spot for suicide jumpers. In the year or so they've been living there, seven people have come to the cliff's edge, and seven times Gabe has patiently talked them out of killing themselves. 

Gabe is incredibly good-looking, sensitive, kind, and full of fun, and it seems everyone longs to be his friend. In contrast, Pippa sees herself as kind of pedestrian, a caretaking type who prefers staying the background of life. But it's Pippa who earns the money for the family and who carefully monitors Gabe's emotions and keeps him stable.

But then the eighth person comes to the cliff's edge, the person who will succeed in jumping. This event really throws Pippa and Gabe, and exposes the cracks in their marriage that have been brewing for years.

This was a great story, as I would expect from Sally Hepworth!

I also read by this author: Darling Girls