Bloggin' 'bout Books: 08/30/17

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- ~~Arizona~~ (1)

- Arkansas

- ~~California~~ (5)

- ~~Colorado~~ (3)

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- ~~Florida~~ (1)

- ~~Georgia~~ (1)

- ~~Hawaii~~ (1)

- Idaho

- ~~Illinois~~ (1)

- ~~Indiana~~ (1)

- ~~Iowa~~ (2)

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- ~~Maine~~ (1)

- Maryland

- ~~Massachusetts~~ (1)

- ~~Michigan~~ (2)

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- ~~Montana~~ (1)

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (5)

- ~~North Carolina~~ (3)

- ~~North Dakota~~ (1)

- ~~Ohio~~ (1)

- ~~Oklahoma~~ (1)

- ~~Oregon~~ (2)

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- ~~South Carolina~~ (1)

- South Dakota

- ~~Tennessee~~ (1)

- ~~Texas~~ (1)

- Utah

- ~~Vermont~~ (3)

- ~~Virginia~~ (2)

- ~~Washington~~ (3)

- West Virginia

- ~~Wisconsin~~ (1)

- ~~Wyoming~~ (1)

- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

- Australia (3)

- Canada (2)

- England (7)

- France (2)

- Puerto Rico (1)

- Scotland (1)

Bet Your Life A Satisfying Second in Engrossing YA Mystery Trilogy

2:01 PM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for Bet Your Life, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, How to Fall. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

After three months in Port Sentinel, 16-year-old Jess Tennant is starting to feel at home in the little Devon town by the sea. She's missing Will Henderson, who's been sent off to boarding school in order to keep him from getting too close to Jess, but there's some solace to be found in Ryan's eager arms. Before she can become too comfortable in her new living situation, though, another mystery unfolds to shake up her world.

When Sebastian Dawson is left for dead on the side of the road one night, Jess is as shocked as anyone else. She doesn't care much for Seb, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be in a coma after being beaten almost to death. The police don't seem too concerned about finding the assailant. Jess, however, wants to know exactly what happened to Seb and why. As she starts delving into her classmates' secrets, she finds plenty of compelling motives. But who actually tried to kill Seb? Jess is determined to find out.

Bet Your Life, the second installment in the Jess Tennant series by Irish crime writer Jane Casey, is just as absorbing as the first. Maybe more so. Fearless Jess is an easy heroine to like. Not only is she brave, but she's also funny, self-deprecating, and loyal (most of the time). The plot sprints along at a good clip, making the book difficult to put down. Sure, you'll have to suspend your belief a little bit to swallow the fact that Jess always seems to solve cases trained coppers can't, but overall, this is a satisfying read in an engrossing trilogy. I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes: How to Fall and Hide and Seek by Jane Casey)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love: Another library ~~fine~~ find

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)
25. To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
26. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (Feb)
27. A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
28. If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell (Feb)
29. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano [audio] (Feb)
30. Wool by Hugh Howey (Feb)
31. Shift by Hugh Howey (Feb)
32. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
33. The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan (Mar)
34. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (Mar)
35. Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber (Mar)
36. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Mar)
37. The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Mar)
38. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor [audio] (Mar)
39. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (Mar)
40. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (Mar)
41. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth* [audio] (Mar)
42. Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks With Monks and Amish Farmers helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker (Mar)
43. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (Mar)
44. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto* (Apr)
45. Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams (Apr)
46. The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (Apr)
47. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Apr)
48. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth [audio] (Apr)
49. That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Apr)
50. A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue (Apr)
51. The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Apr)
52. The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes (Apr)
53. Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Apr)
54. Murder Runs in the Family by Tamara Berry (Apr)
55. The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (Apr)
56. Petals and Poison by Jess Dylan [audio] (Apr)
57. It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson (Apr)
58. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* [re-read] (May)
59. Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (May)
60. You Are Here: Connecting Flights by various authors, edited by Ellen Oh (May)
61. The Silver Shooter by Erin Lindsey* (May)
62. The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry* (May)
63. The Secret Room by Jane Casey* (May)
64. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson (May)
65. The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson (May)

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Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)