This was fantastic!

Here, what really blew me away was the plot and all the amazing details the author put in. I really felt like I was in the city. Our main character, Ruby, I absolutely adored. And the romance that ensued was just delicious!
A very good read!

This book is perfect for the fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper series, as I am. This is a deadly game of chess wherein you will be sucked in a whirlpool of murderous thoughts and poisons. However, there's a twist. A girl who can read minds and a boy who can transform into another person? Ugh. The best.

This is more than just a historical murder mystery. This is centered on the unjust system of politics that may or may not have happened in the past. There was no murder we are trying to uncover (because I was already introduced to that), but rather the story of corruption, graft, crimes, human trafficking, etc. It tackled a series of human crimes that if comparing to our world were often neglected by the society and the government.

And can I just say I found another yet a masterpiece of a work.

The buildup of the plot from the beginning was brilliant. It's not slow or fast paced, but rather in the middle. A steady built of apprehension and questions and answers. The writing itself was decent too, and there are slangs that I'm ab-so-tive-ly sure were used in the 80s.

The characters I deeply cared about, especially of course, our heroine, hero, and heroine's best friend slash partner-in-crime (actually, it's also applicable to our hero). The friendship between our heroine and her best friend is so deeply moving, and I thought, this is the kind of friend everyone deserved: a friend who would go dangerous lengths just to save their friend.

As for our hero slash main love interest, TO HE THE CUTEST? He's the most kindhearted person I've ever read about, and his love for his dog? Damn, he upheld the golden rule: ALWAYS SAVE THE DOG. And the author's portrayal of his anxiety and panic attack? Bravo. His relationship with our heroine is also brilliantly written. Their romance in even that cheesy, it's just pure aaawwww in my part. They don't take up the whole story, of course, it's more of a subplot.

And our heroine? Please one of the most badass heroines I've read about. She smart, clever, intelligent. She knows how a nest of vipers work, and defiance and stubbornness have been her most valuable ally. She knows how to play the game of minds, and is not easily swayed under Death's watchful stare.

And also, the buildup of connections of the characters are also brilliant. You may think this scene is unnecessary, but it's always connected to the plot. It always go back to the plot.

Of course, some events in this book are hardly real as they're not even remotely close to happening in real life, but it depicted that a government system, no matter how many masks or schemes theyre trying to cover, it always always come out.

Overall, this book is a brilliant piece of a work. Brilliant brilliant brilliant. And if you the kind of person who likes normalizing killing off men because they're just pure evil towards women? This book will give you that.

THANK YOU NETGALLEY AND HOLIDAY HOUSE FOR THE ARC!!!

Thank you Holiday House, Kendall Kulper NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
This book is similar in nature and aesthetic to books like The Diviners series by Libba Bray, which is to say it's full of vivid 1920s imagery and features a chilling mystery at its center.

18 year old Ruby is a vigilante or a murderer depending on how you look at it, and her story involving a City Hall conspiracy is adventurous and filled with magic. The usage of 1920s slang was adorable and the dealing of feminism in this book was enjoyable and fresh as the female characters were witty and sharp

However, my primary issue with this book stemmed from the pacing issues. The book was very very difficult to get into and then felt like it sped by too quickly, thus I could not get attached to the characters and plot, no matter how fun and likable they seemed.

I love Gatsby-era books so I was interested to see what this one was about. The cover is gorgeous, but the story fell flat for me. It did keep my attention and I loved the romance of it, but that was about it. The world building was interesting as well, btw. But… Just wasn’t for me overall!

this really reminded me of stalking jack the ripper! the setting was quite fun and i loved the layout of ruby's character. i did feel the book had a slow start and it didn't catch my attention so it was hard to keep going at times. overall, it just wasn't for me.

The cover had me hooked as soon as I saw it, and the premise was so enticing, I couldn't resist. Murder for the Modern Girl was a perfect length for a standalone that kept my attention and left me very pleased.

Ruby lives in 1920's Chicago, where high society flapper girls like her can have fun, sneak booze, and have fun twists with boys. But underneath all the bubbles and blitz, she can hear the dark thoughts of men, waiting to take advantage of those women who can't turn to the law for protection. Ruby is their protection. That is, until an unruly janitor with a penchant for changing faces and investigating where he has no right to goes looking for the mysterious person poisoning the city's dirtiest men. It truly was an invigorating read, and I gave it a 8/10.

--- SPOILERS AHEAD ---
 
As much as I enjoyed this book, there were two points that bothered me. One of them is definitely more trivial and a me thing, the other was about the book as a whole.

Firstly, as soon as they had the whole 'Vivian the journalist who likes women' thing, which was very briefly glossed over btw, I was definitely expecting some sort of romance between the pair. This definitely shows how much of the summary I read, but I feel like reading that takes away from the book sometimes. Anyways, I think they could've been queer.

The second thing was about the story. So, both of the main characters have powers. Sure. Peter was even trying to do scientific research on his. What bothered me was Ruby's power, and how it was explained away. Being able to know people's thoughts is a lot, but there was no way that her parents wouldn't have noticed when she was little. She said things often that she shouldn't know, and it would've made more people, in my opinion, suspicious. Especially her father. Deduction can only get you so far.

I did quite enjoy the resolution, though if a bit rushed. I enjoyed the feminism bits, and the shoot out at the end kept me on my toes. Peter and Ruby's relationship was well written, though I am more of a fan of enemies to lovers, it was cute. Overall, a great read, and one I would definitely recommend to someone just stepping into reading!

Ruby, an eighteen-year-old avenging murderess, encounters a threat within the corrupted City Hall that even she may not have what it takes to face. Meanwhile, a secretive, anxious shapeshifting forensic scientist attempts to get the attention of a doctor who may be able to help him get control over his power.

I cannot say that I particularly enjoyed this book simply because I could not get invested in the action. We were never show why we should care even though occasionally we were told why we should.

Plot-wise, I would say this books was fast paced; there was always something happening and the stakes were being upped continuously, which could be a bad thing or a good thing depending on what you care for in your books. I generally prefer more character-focused books, so that is why this might not have quite landed for me.

Speaking of the characters. Ruby and Guy were ... decent? I mean, they weren't particularly interesting or especially annoying. Honestly, they were great for carrying the plot, but do not hold up under inspection.

Their romance was quite abrupt but I am willing to be lenient due to their powers and stressful circumstances and such. Apart from that, they were pretty cute together, we just didn't spend much time focused on that.

We were given the exact amount of information we needed for the story to work within the world and nothing more. I did enjoy the look within corrupted Chicago in the 1920s -- the prohibition was discussed and so were the social customs of the time, which was sufficient to establish the time period.

The use of 20s slang didn't really go that well, at times it felt rather clunky and unsubtle, which ended up taking me out of the story at times. However, Ruby and Guy's voices were quite distinct from one another, which was nice to see.

Overall, this book just wasn't for me but I could see it being the perfect read for someone else.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Murder for the Modern Girl is a Gatsby inspired ya novel that is set in the roaring 20s in Chicago. We follow Ruby who can read minds and uses her abilities to murder bad men. We also follow Guy who is a huge science nerd and one of the sweetest characters in this story. While he’s working at the morgue as a janitor, he’s also linking all the bodies that have been coming in to a serial killer that’s roaming around their city.

These characters were amazing. I loved Ruby and Guy’s relationship throughout the story and Ruby’s badass best friend Maggie. Maggie was a very loyal friend and wasn’t going to let Ruby go down without a fight. This book alternated between Ruby and Guy’s POV which I loved.

I heard that you would really love this book if you loved The Diviners but I haven’t read that series yet so I can’t say much on that matter. I will say though that it reminded me of Stalking Jack the Ripper a little bit which I LOVED! I highly recommend picking this one up when it releases on May 24th!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Holiday House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine a mix of the diviners, stalking jack the ripper, and these violent delights, with the vibes of the 1920s. This book was so fun. It was filled with glitz, glamour, magic, murder, and mystery! The characters (both the main characters and the side/supporting characters) are so beautifully developed and fleshed out; you root for them throughout the story! The author did an excellent job of weaving in a mystery that will keep you looking like this 👀 until the very end. I also really loved the romance between our two man characters. I'm a big fan of the soft guy and badass girl trope and Kendall did this perfectly in this book. Lastly, the magic was something I really enjoyed as well! While I wish it would've been developed more, Ruby and Guy's magics were interesting. Now, what made me give this 3.5 out of 4 stars was the writing at the beginning of the chapter. There was A LOT of 1920s terms and such, and because it was forced into so many sentences it made the writing feel really choppy and un-engaging. It gets better, but that really made the story hard to be an automatic love for me.

Ruby is a mind-reading vigilante who gets wrapped up in a mob takeover of her city. Along with a mysterious character, whose story is equal parts sorrowful and enchanting, Ruby works to bring the person harming her city to justice. With an eclectic group of characters and astonishingly vivid setting, this is an easy, pleasant mystery read.

ARC kindly provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

- ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review -
Murder, politcs fantasy, romance (3,5 stars)
Set in 1920s Chicago, we follow Ruby and Guy (or is it?) adventure to undo a conspiracy against her father.
The charismatic Ruby is a mind reader who wants to be a lawyer and sweet Guy is a shapeshifter morgue janitor.
The beginning was a little slow, as the story progressed the plot becomes more interesting. It's atmospheric, fastpaced, fun reading.
I would like it more if the fantasy side was more developed. Why nobody was surprised about their special talents?

You won't want to put it down. The atmosphere was also on point. At first, I wasn't fond of the relationships between characters, but as the story progressed I became more fond of them. I had a lot of fun reading this.

This was very heavy on the Stalking Jack the Ripper vibes! Also I love their era. I thought this was really interesting and unlike anything I’ve ever read :)

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"I couldn't help dancing down the sidewalk, knowing I looked perfect for tonight's party: fresh and pretty and glowing with a mysterious kind of something that would send the fellas gathering like moths to a candle. I grinned. Honestly, murder worked better than mascara."

Ruby Newhouse is a morally grey character, and I loved every minute of it. She is a charismatic, fast-talking, near fearless woman who is pushing back against the way women are treated in the 1920's. Her dad is the State Attorney, and she plans to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. Female lawyers are unheard of, so she has some barriers in her way. Until she breaks past those barriers, she takes justice into her own hands. She stalks the streets, using her mind reading ability, to find men who are cruel to women and children. Men who have no remorse for the evil they have done. When she finds these men, she uses her extensive knowledge of poisons to make sure they never hurt another woman or child again.

"People underestimate the dead as conversationalists. You couldn't disappoint a dead person, or incorrectly guess what they wanted you to say."

Guy Rosewood is a shy timid person. He works in the county morgue as a janitor. He sneaks in at night to preform secret autopsies. He believes if he can figure out how the body works, he may be able to control his shapeshifting abilities. While performing these autopsies, he learns that the official autopsy reports aren't matching how the people are actually dying. After being dragged along to a murder scene as an assistant, where he correctly identifies the cause of death as poisoning, he comes to the conclusion that there is a serial poisoner. He shares his theory with the medical examiner, Dr. Keene. Together, they try to solve the murder. Little does he know, he is falling for the poisoner herself.

This was a fun fast read. There wasn't many twist and turns but it was still able to keep my attention. Guy has the most character growth but Ruby's personality kind of over shadowed him at times. I also felt the Ruby and her best friend Maggie and more of a connection than her and Guy. My main complaint would be the 1920's dialect. At times it got to be too much and even seemed to be forced. There were spots I didn't know if it was a typo or if it was just the way they were talking. The use of - in words became too much.

Murder for the Modern Girl follows Ruby, a flapper who can read minds, and "Guy", a shapeshifter who works at a morgue. Ruby murders bad men, and Guy, somehow, starts investigating these murders, not knowing it was Ruby who he was looking for.

The story is told in both their POVs, which is something I always appreciate in books. Ruby and Guy's relationship was super cute. Although it was love at first sight for Guy, I still enjoyed their moments together. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It was action-packed with enough mystery to keep you hooked. Overall this was a good book and I had lots of fun reading it.

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was a fun world that Kulper made and just a lot of fun. Highly enjoyable with the mind-reading element.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have never read a book like this. I loved the secret abilities of the characters mixed with the 1920s time period. I am also a sucker for any book with multiple perspectives and murder with a twist. I absolutely enjoyed this book!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

Wow YES! I adored this! A mix of murder and a dash of fantasy topped off with a rich historical setting- absolutely perfect!

I missed the fantasy aspect in the description somehow but I was pleasantly surprised!

10/10!!

This book had a little bit of everything - from romance to murder and magic in between.

The mystery and suspense is what had me hooked from the beginning, however, the romance is what had the sap buried inside me flying through the book. I literally wanted to be like Ruby. I imagine her as a fast-talking, fearless, more badass Daisy (but like, without all the betrayal).

The story follows Ruby Newhouse, the state attorney's daughter with a gift for reading minds. However hard she tries to use her powers for good, she ends up in trouble with all the wrong people.
Guy Rosewood has problems and a magic of his own. Working for the county morgue to get close to the only person that could help him, he gets involved in something much bigger than he could've imagined.

I would absolutely recommend!

I struggled with the first 20%-ish of this book, mainly because we were being tossed 1920s lingo left right and centre but past that, as the lingo became less/I got used to it, I flew through the story. I personally love the era of 1920s, flappers, glitz, glamour, Gatsby-esque, so reading about it was a real treat, and it was such a spin on a typical historical fiction set in these times! With a sci-fi spin of mind-reading and shapeshifting, the characters of Ruby and Guy are just so fascinating and you really do fall in love with each of them and just want to give them both a big hug, especially Guy. I thought that maybe the ending fell a bit flat for me, but I loved the story as a whole. It was a quick, fun read, and I would definitely recommend it for any historical fiction lovers.