Les Petites Revues [#16]

This week we have two completely different books by the same author, a coming-of-age tale, and MURDER. 

Book Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Title: A Curse So Dark and Lonely (A Curse So Dark and Lonely #1)
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: January 29, 2019
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world (GoodReads).

I am obsessed with A Curse So Dark and Lonely. 

Les Petites Revues [#11]

January releases are starting off strong! This week I bring you a twisty adult fantasy, intense heist, and sweet adult romance. 

Les Petites Revues [#8]

I think I'm really digging these mini reviews guys! This week, I bring you a not-so-YA fairytale, a summer cute opposites-attract romance, and a Christmas romance with not a lot of Christmas. 

Book Review: The Kiss Quotient

Title: The Kiss Quotient
Author: Helen Hoang
Genre: Adult | Contemporary | Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Source: Library
Format: eBook

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...(goodreads)

MY LITTLE HEART IS SO FULL.

Book Review: The Mermaid

Title: The Mermaid
Author: Christina Henry
Genre: Adult | Historical Fantasy
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 19, 2018
Source: Publisher
Format: e-Audio

Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn't bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.
P. T. Barnum was looking for marvelous attractions for his American Museum, and he'd heard a rumor of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. He wanted to make his fortune, and an attraction like Amelia was just the ticket.
Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he's determined to hold on to his mermaid (goodreads).

The Mermaid was a beautiful story that examined human nature and the bigotry of polite society. 

Book Review The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Adult | Contemporary | Historical Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 13, 2017
Source: Library
Format: Physical

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways (goodreads). 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was heartbreaking. 

Book Review: Before the Devil Breaks You

Title: Before the Devil Breaks You (Diviners #3)
Author: Libba Bray
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fantasy | Paranormal
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 3, 2017
Source: Purchased
Format: Physical

New York City.1927.Lights are bright.Jazz is king.Parties are wild.And the dead are coming...
After battling a supernatural sleeping sickness that early claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough of lies. They're more determined than ever to uncover the mystery behind their extraordinary powers, even as they face off against an all-new terror. Out on Ward's Island, far from the city's bustle, sits a mental hospital haunted by the lost souls of people long forgotten--ghosts who have unusual and dangerous ties to the man in the stovepipe hat, also known as the King of Crows.
With terrible accounts of murder and possession flooding in from all over, and New York City on the verge of panic, the Diviners must band together and brave the sinister ghosts invading the asylum, a fight that will bring them fact-to-face with the King of Crows. But as the explosive secrets of the past come to light, loyalties and friendships will be tested, love will hang in the balance, and the Diviners will question all that they've ever known. All the while, malevolent forces gather from every corner in a battle for the very soul of a nation--a fight that could claim the Diviners themselves (goodreads). 

Reading Before the Devil Breaks You made me feel like I was watching Infinity War all over again. I am broken. 

Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone

Title: Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1)
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Magic 
Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Source: Purchased
Format: Physical

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. 
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. 
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy (goodreads).

Wow, where has this book been all my life. 

Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows

Title: A Gathering of Shadows (Shadows of Magic #2)
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Magic | Romance
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: February 23, 2016
Source: Purchased
Format:  Physical

It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift--back into Black London.
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games--an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries--a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall (goodreads). 

This series is absolutely addicting!

Book Review: The Cruel Prince

Title: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Adventure
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 2, 2018 
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself (goodreads).

The Cruel Prince does not let you breathe for one second. 

Book Review: The City of Brass

Title: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Genre: New Adult | Historical Fantasy | Mythology
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
Source: Publisher
Format: e-ARC

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles. 
But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass?a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. 
In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. 
After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for . . . (goodreads)

I want more of this, and I want it now. 

Book Review: Dear Martin

Title: Dear Martin
Author: Nic Stone
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 17, 2017
Source: Gifted
Format: ARC

Raw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone joins industry giants Jason Reynolds and Walter Dean Myers as she boldly tackles American race relations in this stunning debut.
Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.
Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.
Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack (goodreads).

That was a whirlwind of emotions!

Book Review: A Poison Dark and Drowning

Title: A Poison Dark and Drowning (Kingdom on Fire #2)
Author: Jessica Cluess
Genre: Historical Fantasy | Magic
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 19, 2017
Source: ALA
Format: ARC

The magicians want her to lead. The sorcerers want her to lie. The demons want her blood. Henrietta wants to save the one she loves. But will his dark magic be her undoing?
Henrietta doesn’t need a prophecy to know that she’s in danger. She came to London to be named the chosen one, the first female sorcerer in centuries, the one who would defeat the bloodthirsty Ancients. Instead, she discovered a city ruled by secrets. And the biggest secret of all: Henrietta is not the chosen one.
Still, she must play the role in order to keep herself and Rook, her best friend and childhood love, safe. But can she truly save him? The poison in Rook’s system is transforming him into something monstrous as he begins to master dark powers of his own.
So when Henrietta finds a clue to the Ancients’ past that could turn the tide of the war, she persuades Blackwood, the mysterious Earl of Sorrow-Fell, to travel up the coast to seek out strange new weapons. And Magnus, the brave, reckless flirt who wants to win back her favor, is assigned to their mission. Together, they will face monsters, meet powerful new allies, and uncover the most devastating weapon of all: the truth (goodreads). 

A Poison Dark and Drowning will hit you right in the feels over and over again. 

Book Review: The Disappearances

Title: The Disappearances 
Author: Emily Bain Murphy
Genre: Young Adult | Magical Realism | Historical Fiction
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 4, 2017
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

What if the ordinary things in life suddenly…disappeared?
Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home--and the place where Juliet grew up.
Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together--scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream--vanish every seven years.
No one knows what caused these “Disappearances,” or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible--and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind. 
As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone's secrets for long before it starts giving them up (goodreads).

The Disappearances was an unexpected whimsical tale. 

Book Review: Scythe

Title: Scythe (Arc of Scythe #1)
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: Young Adult | Dystopia
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 22, 2016
Source: Library
Format: Physical

Thou shalt kill.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own (goodreads).

 

Wow. Scythe asks a lot of great questions and explores many shades of gray. 

Book Review: A Crown of Wishes

Title: A Crown of Wishes (The Star-Touched Queen #2)
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Magic | Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 28, 2017
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC

Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes—a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.
Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.
Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire (goodreads).

Whoa. I wanted magic, I want adventure, I wanted romance, and Chokshi delivered. 

Book Review: If I Was Your Girl

Title: If I Was Your Girl
Author: Meredith Russo
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | LGBTQiA
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Format: Audiobook 
Source: Audible

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school in Lambertville, Tennessee. Like any other girl, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. There’s a reason why she transferred schools for her senior year, and why she’s determined not to get too close to anyone.
And then she meets Grant Everett. Grant is unlike anyone she’s ever met—open, honest, kind—and Amanda can’t help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself…including her past. But she’s terrified that once she tells Grant the truth, he won't be able to see past it.
Because the secret that Amanda’s been keeping? It’s that she used to be Andrew (goodreads).

If I Was Your Girl is a beautiful novel of self-discovery and coming into your skin. 

Book Review: The Hate U Give

Title: The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Genre: Young Adult | Race Relations | Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: February 28, 2017
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice. Movie rights have been sold to Fox, with Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) to star (goodreads).

Words can't describe my reading experience with The Hate U Give.