This week I bring you nothing but YA! We've got a conclusion(?) to a YA fantasy about beauty, a sci-fi retelling of Anastasia, and a book that's marketed as fantasy but is more of a sci-fi murder mystery.
Showing posts with label 3.5 stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3.5 stars. Show all posts
Friday, March 8, 2019
Friday, March 1, 2019
The Loyal League Series Review
After reading and falling in love with the Princess Theory series I knew I had to read everything by Alyssa Cole. I just finished the Loyal League series and it's a series that I want everyone to read. It's educational, highlights black heroes who fought to end slavery, and has some of the sweetest romances.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Book Review: Give the Dark My Love
Author: Beth Revis
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: September 25, 2018
Source: ALA Annual
Format: ARC
When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island's wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn't quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her.
All, except for Greggori "Grey" Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that's for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it's making its way toward the cities. With her family's life--and the lives of all of Lunar Island's citizens--on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague.
Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy's most dangerous corners--and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness (goodreads).
Give the Dark My Love was a story of testing the limits.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Book Review: As She Ascends
Author: Jodi Meadows
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: September 11, 2018
Source: Author
Format: Manuscript
MIRA, THE HOPEBEARERMira Minkoba is on the run with her friends after a fiery escape from the Pit, where she’d been imprisoned for defending the dragons she loves. And she wants answers. Where have all the dragons been taken? Why are powerful noorestones being shipped to the mainland? And did the treaty she’s been defending her whole life truly sell out the Fallen Isles to their enemies?
MIRA, THE DRAGONHEARTEDAs her connection to the dragons—and their power—grows stronger, so does Mira’s fear that she might lose control and hurt someone she loves. But the only way to find the truth is to go home again, to Damina, to face the people who betrayed her and the parents she’s not sure she can trust.
Home, where she must rise above her fears. Or be consumed.
The second page-turning novel in Jodi Meadows’ Fallen Isles trilogy scorches with mysterious magic and riveting romance as one girl kindles a spark into a flame (goodreads).
As She Ascends had more action, more character development, and more at stake.
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Book Review: Given to the Earth
Author: Mindy McGinnis
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Publisher: Putnam's Books
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Source: Library
Format: Physical
Although she was born to save the kingdom by sacrificing herself to the rising sea, Khosa's marriage to King Vincent has redeemed her. As the Queen of Stille, she's untouchable. But being Queen hasn't stopped her heart from longing for the King's stepbrother, Donil. And it hasn't stopped her body from longing for the sea itself, which still calls for her.
While Khosa is made to choose between loyalty and love, Dara is on a mission for vengeance. Years ago, the Pietra slaughtered the entire Indiri race, leaving only Dara and her twin, Donil, alive. Now, spurned by King Vincent, Dara has embarked on a mission to spill the blood of Pietra's leader, Witt, and will stop at nothing to show his people the wrath of the last Indiri.
As the waves crash ever closer to Stille, secrets are revealed, hearts are won and lost, and allegiances change like the shifting sand (goodreads).
Given to the Earth was dark but an appropriate conclusion to this duology.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Book Review: Bring Me Their Hearts
Author: Sara Wolf
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Magic | Romance
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.
Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.
Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.
So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.
Winner takes the loser’s heart.
Literally (goodreads).
Bring Me Their Hearts was unexpected but fun.
Friday, May 4, 2018
Book Review: The Way You Make Me Feel
Author: Maurene Goo
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind (goodreads)?
The beginning was a bit rough, but I quickly fell in love with Clara's transformation.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Book Review: The Smoke Thieves
Title: The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves #1)Author: Sally Green
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
A princess, a traitor, a hunter and a thief. Four teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Four nations destined for conflict.
In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.
As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize (goodreads)?
The comparison between The Smoke Thieves and Game of Thrones is accurate.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Book Review: UNSUB
Author: Meg Gardiner
Genre: Adult | Crime | Mystery | Thriller
Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: June 27, 2018
Source: Library
Format: Physical
A riveting psychological thriller inspired by the never-caught Zodiac Killer, about a young detective determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier.
Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood nightmares reemerges: the Prophet. An UNSUB—what the FBI calls an unknown subject—the Prophet terrorized the Bay Area in the 1990s and nearly destroyed her father, the lead investigator on the case.
The Prophet’s cryptic messages and mind games drove Detective Mack Hendrix to the brink of madness, and Mack’s failure to solve the series of ritualized murders—eleven seemingly unconnected victims left with the ancient sign for Mercury etched into their flesh—was the final nail in the coffin for a once promising career.
Twenty years later, two bodies are found bearing the haunting signature of the Prophet. Caitlin Hendrix has never escaped the shadow of her father’s failure to protect their city. But now the ruthless madman is killing again and has set his sights on her, threatening to undermine the fragile barrier she rigidly maintains for her own protection, between relentless pursuit and dangerous obsession.
Determined to decipher his twisted messages and stop the carnage, Caitlin ignores her father’s warnings as she draws closer to the killer with each new gruesome murder. Is it a copycat, or can this really be the same Prophet who haunted her childhood? Will Caitlin avoid repeating her father’s mistakes and redeem her family name, or will chasing the Prophet drag her and everyone she loves into the depths of the abyss (goodreads)?
UNSUB was thrilling, but I was expecting more from the villain.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Book Review: To Kill a Kingdom
Author: Alexandra Christo
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Retelling | Romance | Mermaids
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.
The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy (goodreads)?
To Kill a Kingdom was deliciously dark.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Book Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
Genre: Young Adult | Dystopia | Zombies
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 10, 2009
Format: Physical
Source: ALA
In Mary's world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.
Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death (goodreads)?
The Forest of Hands and Teeth was atmospheric albeit a bit slow at times.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Book Review: Reign of the Fallen
Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Magic
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: January 23, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.
A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees (goodreads)?
Reign of the Fallen was exciting but missing some key character and world development.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Book Review: Love, Hate, and Other Filters
Author: Samira Ahmed
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Publisher: Soho Teen
Publication Date: January 16, 2018
Source: ALA
Format: ARC
A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape--perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.
American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.
There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs (goodreads).
Samira Ahmed's Love, Hate, and Other Filters is a refreshing voice in Young Adult contemporary.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Book Review: Unearthed
Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Genre: Young Adult | Sci-Fi | Adventure | Romance
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: Audiobook
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.
For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.
In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...(goodreads)
Unearthed was a wild ride that reminded me of These Broken Stars.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Book Review: Everless
Author: Sara Holland
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself (goodreads).
Everless opened with intrigue but one too many coincidences brought this down a notch.
Friday, December 1, 2017
Book Review: Eliza and Her Monsters
Author: Francesca Zappia
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
Source: Library
Format: Physical
Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.
In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.
Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.
But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart (goodreads).
Eliza and Her Monsters spoke to 16-year-old Amber so hard.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Book Review: Shadowhouse Fall
Author: Daniel Jose Older
Genre: Young Adult | Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: September 12, 2017
Source: ALA
Format: ARC
Sierra and her friends love their new lives as shadowshapers, making art and creating change with the spirits of Brooklyn. Then Sierra receives a strange card depicting a beast called the Hound of Light -- an image from the enigmatic, influential Deck of Worlds. The shadowshapers know their next battle has arrived.
Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing in the real world as well, as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds... or risk losing them all (goodreads).
Shadowhouse Fall raised all the stakes in this fast-paced sequel!
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Book Review: Rebel of the Sands
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Young | Fantasy | Magic
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 8, 2016
Source: Purchased
Format: Physical
She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.
Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him... or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is (goodreads).
Rebel of the Sands just introduced a hell of an adventure!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)