Les Petites Revues [#10]

Title: Two Can Keep a Secret
Author: Karen M. McManus
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars

Two Can Keep a Secret proves that McManus knows how to deliver a twisty mystery and I will be gobbling up every book she comes out with. Two Can Keep a Secret isn't as WTF-worthy as One of Us is Lying, but it's pretty up there. Two Can Keep a Secret followed Ellery and her twin as they were sent to her mother's hometown while their mother was in rehab. There, they learned more about their aunt who disappeared years ago and the other girls who had disappeared since then. When I say this one is windy, I mean it. McManus would make you think that you knew what was happening, then pull the rug from under your feet. For all of us mystery readers who have a tendency of guessing the ending, you may be able to guess what happened, but you'll still feel shocked. Let me just say, that last line was enough to make me say, "whoa". 

Title: White Stag (Permafrost #1)
Author: Kara Barbieri
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Rating: 2 stars

Sigh, White Stag sounded good on paper but it was not my kind of YA Fantasy. I'm a fan of broody, dark fantasy that is dedicated to its world. White Stag felt very YA-lite, it was full of humor (even though there ere some pretty dark situations) and usage of U.S. American terms like "cooties". From the beginning, I knew it wasn't meant for me and I just never got into the world. There were goblins who seemed to be more like fae than goblins and not a lot of descriptions regarding their powers and physical appearances. The plot itself was very fast-paced, but maybe a bit too fast-paced for me. The ending had a twist that I found interesting, but that was the best thing to happen to the book in my opinion. So if you're a fan of books like Royal Bastards or anything by Amanda Hocking, you may enjoy this one more. 

Have you read any of the below? 

What are your thoughts? 

January releases are you looking forward to?

Les Petites Revues [#2]

This week I bring some murder mystery with a side of strange fairytales.

Waiting on Wednesday [#140]

Title: The Cheerleaders
Author: Kara Thomas
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 21, 2018

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.
First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.
That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.
There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe (goodreads).

Book Review: Little Monsters

Title: Little Monsters
Author: Kara Thomas
Genre: Young Adult | Mystery
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Source: Purchased
Format: Audiobook

Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.
Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.
Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident.
But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.
Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone (goodreads). 

That was mind blowing!

Book Review: The Hollow Girl

Title: The Hollow Girl
Author: Hillary Monahan
Genre: Young Adult | Horror
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher

Five boys attacked her.Now they must repay her with their blood and flesh.
Bethan is the apprentice to a green healer named Drina in a clan of Welsh Romanies. Her life is happy and ordered and modest, as required by Roma custom, except for one thing: Silas, the son of the chieftain, has been secretly harassing her.
One night, Silas and his friends brutally assault Bethan and a half-Roma friend, Martyn. As empty and hopeless as she feels from the attack, she asks Drina to bring Martyn back from death’s door. “There is always a price for this kind of magic,” Drina warns. The way to save him is gruesome. Bethan must collect grisly pieces to fuel the spell: an ear, some hair, an eye, a nose, and fingers.
She gives the boys who assaulted her a chance to come forward and apologize. And when they don’t, she knows exactly where to collect her ingredients to save Martyn (goodreads). 

I was expecting a bit more from Hillary Monahan. 

Book Review: The Sun is also a Star

Title: The Sun is also a Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | Romance
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true (goodreads)?

 

THIS BOOK. I WANT TO SPREAD IT AMONG THE MASSES.

Book Review: The Flame Never Dies

Title: The Flame Never Dies (The Stars Never Rise #2)

Author: Rachel Vincent

Genre: Young Adult | Dystopia | Demons

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Date: August 16, 2016

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

One spark will rise.
Nina Kane was born to be an exorcist. And since uncovering the horrifying truth—that the war against demons is far from over—seventeen-year-old Nina and her pregnant younger sister, Mellie, have been on the run, incinerating the remains of the demon horde as they go.
In the badlands, Nina, Mellie, and Finn, the fugitive and rogue exorcist who saved her life, find allies in a group of freedom fighters. They also face a new threat: Pandemonia, a city full of demons. But this fresh new hell is the least of Nina’s worries. The well of souls ran dry more than a century ago, drained by the demons secretly living among humans, and without a donor soul, Mellie’s child will die within hours of its birth.
Nina isn’t about to let that happen…even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice (goodreads).

 

The Flame Never Dies is an exciting, albeit, unsatisfying conclusion. 

Book Review: And I Darken

Title: And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1)

Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 
Format: ARC
Source: C2E2

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. 
And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken (goodreads). 

And  Darken was a brutal, brutal book. 

[Meme]Waiting on Wednesday [#89]

Title: The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2)

Author: Melissa Grey
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 12, 2016

Everything in Echo's life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.
The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.
Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she's already overcome.
She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.
Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature--or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what's left of her world to the ground?
Welcome to the shadow hour (goodreads).

Book Review: The Girl at Midnight

Title: The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1)
Author: Melissa Grey
Genre: Young Adult | Romance | Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Format: Physical
Source:  Purchased/Signing

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.
Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.
Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.
But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire (goodreads).

The Girl at Midnight promises to be a great action-packed series!

Book Review: The Stars Never Rise

Title: The Stars Never Rise (The Stars Never Rise #1) 
Author: Rachel Vincent 
Genre: Young Adult // Dystopia // Magic // Demons
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Format: Physical 
Source: Borrowed (Library)

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.
When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.
To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?
Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her (goodreads).

The Stars Never Rise is fast-paced and full of shocking revelations!

[Meme]Waiting on Wednesday [#69]

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Stars Never Rise (Untitled #1) 
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Delcaorte Press
Publication Date:  June 9, 2015

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.
When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.
To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?
Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her (goodreads).

This sounds a  bit like The Demon Trapper's Daughter so I support this. 

Book Review: Of Beast and Beauty

Title: Of Beast and Beauty
Author: Stacey Jay
Genre: Young Adult // Fairytale Retellings // Magic // Romance
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date:  July 23, 2013
Format: Physical Copy
Source: Gift

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...
In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love (goodreads).

Of Beast and Beauty is chock-full of imagination and a lovely love story about two people from opposite sides of the tracks...er....dome.

[Meme]Waiting on Wednesday [#53]

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1)
Author: Melissa Grey
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.
Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.
Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.
But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire (goodreads)

[Meme]Waiting on Wednesday [#53]

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Princess of Thorns
Author: Stacey Jay
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Expected Publication Date: December 9, 2014

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.


Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love (goodreads)? 

If you know me, you know that I'll never pass up a fairytale retelling! It's the Disney princess in me! :) I've read Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay and enjoyed it. I still need to read Of Beast and Beauty. 

What are you waiting on? 

Bisous!