Jahnna N. Malcolm

Oh man! I got so excited when I hit the jackpot and found a lot of books from my childhood at a local book sale. I found the first four books in this series and scooped them up instantly. I remember always wanting to read these from the library but I always maxed out the number of books I could have out. I never actually ended up reading this series even though my heart was set on them. So, fast forward many, many years and I finally get to experience the books that all of the 'popular' kids show more were reading.

This book was so pleasant and clearly written back in the eighties and nineties. AND I LOVED IT. It's so nostalgic for me, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much.

Amanda Hart is a writer (and the editor-in-chief for her school's newspaper). She is going to release a series of stories about the sororities present in her city and someone is NOT happy. They are going after her with vicious notes and threats. When Amanda and her team call upon a courier service, along comes Mick Soul with his handy dandy bicycle. He gets attacked when trying to deliver a copy of their story, and suddenly Hart and Soul wind up working on the mystery together. Mick enrolls in her high school to help figure out who is threatening her... because what else is a bicycle courier supposed to do in his spare time? School? Pfft, no!

It's a "will they, won't they" sort of duo - like Bones and Booth, Ross and Rachel, Jane and Rafael, etc. Hart and Mick have so much chemistry for a middle grade (almost YA) novel that it's unbelievable. Seriously, I just need to finish the series to know if they end up together because they are super flirty in this book!

There's a good cast of characters filling up the typical high school tropes: Jason the nerd who wants his story in the paper, Pepper the best friend, Josh the tech geek, Whitney the mean girl, and so on.

My one big flaw is as followed: you can kind of figure out what's going to happen by the end but it's not really hinted at. I love when mystery books leave you little hints here and there, but there's not much until the end. I had a pretty good inkling of what would happen based off reading way to many mystery books and watching too many mystery shows, but I wanted to work my way through this mystery with Hart and Soul. It doesn't ruin the story by any means, but I'm a picky reader like that.

Side note, this is my FAVOURITE line in the whole book:
"What a slime!"

Seriously, that's a Briar insult from my childhood. Score 1 for that gem!

Overall, this book is cute and fun! I love a good throw back and I'm so glad I found this book. I will 100% be continuing this series, especially since I have the next three books on my shelf. Hopefully I managed to score the rest of the series! This book is an absolute delight and I 100% recommend it either for middle grader/YA readers or some of you as old as me who want a childhood nostalgia trip.

Three out of five stars! show less

The edition of the book I read, had the same cover copy and color that my copy in the 90s did. It has a problematic tagline: "the only good babysitter is a dead one" is more often quoted in its original form: "the only good (slur) is a dead one". I've had the slur regularly directed at me. (sourly) But go ahead, cover copy people in the 90s. Other than the tagline, the cover imagery and color is great. Onward. I remember grabbing this at a secondhand shop when I was maybe eight. On the back show more cover copy, it was touted that the kids sometimes swore. I covered that part up with my thumb, on the off chance my parents asked to see the book and might not let me get it if there were swearwords. There are no swearwords, I learned upon first read. I was disappointed. Mostly I was terrified to the roots of my hair to my bones. I remembered the last five pages most of all. As an adult, I was scrolling through my goodreads feed and someone was asking about the book. I answered, and wanted to read it again. Now, I did. The last five pages are still terrifying, but in a "oh, good, it still stands!" kind of way. I might even add it to my annual Halloween book list. The book is good at slow dread and foreshadowing, even within the confines of what is to me now, a short book. Much of the scariness, though, is dedicated to creepy-crawlies and gross-out instances, but for every two instances of those, there is an instance of genuine spookiness introduced. The biggest problem I had with this book from the first page to the last, was that the writing is too mature. It could have been an excellently creepy YA novel, but I understand why, in the 90s, the author was going for the children's horror market. I'm so glad this still creeped me out. show less

Hart & Soul is one of my guilty pleasures. I wish I would have read this series when I was a kid, because I am totally digging them. Lucky me found the first four books in the series at a local used book store, and I will forever be on the hunt for the remaining books in the series. They are just too darn good! Honestly, they rival today's YA for my attention!

Yet again, Amanda is investigating. This time around, she gets dragged into a play that seems to be cursed. Her and Pepper, along with show more Kitty and Mick, try to determine who is sabotaging this potential Broadway play that has had nothing but issues since it was written years back.

I'm a little disappointed that Mick didn't get as much action in this book, but he was still there! Honestly, Hart & Soul's relationship and character development is what pulls me into this book.

I did see the ending coming about halfway through the book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed how Jahnna N. Malcolm let the story unfold. There's lots of mysteries and twists and turns scattered throughout the book to keep the reader interested.

Honestly, I'd highly recommend this series. It's easy to read, a quick read to boot, and is lots of fun! It has aged really well! I was honestly shocked to see that this book came out back in 1990! But yeah, that being said there is some goofy 90s drama, but as a 90s baby I didn't mind at all!

Five out of five stars. show less

I absolutely LOVE this series. It's a guilty pleasure of mine and one of the few series I want to binge completely from the moment I read it.

This time around Mandy Hart has turned seventeen! After her birthday event, she starts getting weird calls from a male voice. After her little fall out with Mick Soul, since he didn't show up for their date. Life also has been chaotic at school, since Chad the sports reporter isn't turning in his work and Keith is basically stalking her and demanding a show more date. Oh, and mimes have come to the school too! Is one of these boys the one trying to scare Mandy? Her, Mick, Pepper and Josh will have to find out!

I love this quirky, kooky group of kids! They're so much fun and always have goofy adventures. The ending is easy to see from a mile away, but I didn't care. The fun was in the ride! This book is written really well, is easy to follow and is addicting.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Five out of five stars! show less