Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

 

4 Stars

It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella's mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all--and in the process, they learn that there's more to Cinderella's story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

I loved this book. It was an interesting take on Cinderella. The characters were interesting and I liked the journey from what was expected to freedom. The twists and turns were not surprising but I enjoyed reading them.

Amazon 

While We’re Young by K.L. Walther

 2.75 Stars

Grace, Isa, and Everett used to be an inseparable trio before their love lives became a tangled mess. For starters, Grace is secretly in love with Everett, who used to go out with Isa before breaking her heart in the infamous Freshman Year Fracture. And, oh yeah, no one knows that Isa has been hanging out with James, Grace’s brother—and if Grace finds out, it could ruin their friendship.
With graduation fast approaching, Grace decides an unsanctioned senior skip day in Philadelphia might be just what they need to fix things. All she has to do is convince Isa to help her kidnap Everett and outmaneuver James, who’s certain his sister is up to something.
In an epic day that includes racing up the famous Rocky steps, taste-testing Philly's finest cheesesteaks, and even crashing a wedding, their secrets are bound to collide. But can their hearts withstand the wreckage?

There was so much repeated in this book because everything had to be explained from each characters POV and there were four of them. I got really tired of reading the same thing over and over again. The idea was there and the writer has written amazing stories. This one just didn’t work for me.

Amazon 

 

A First Time for Everything by KL Walter

4 Stars

Madeline has always been extremely close to her family, so she is shocked when her older brother gets engaged without including them (or even giving them a heads up!). Mads has never been the biggest fan of his fiancée, Katie, so in order to remain one happy family, she is determined to bond with Katie before the big day, which includes reluctantly agreeing to be a bridesmaid.

During a late-night bridesmaids-only game of "Truth or Dare" Mads is cornered into revealing she has never been kissed or even been on a date, which spurs the other girls to unite on a quest to find Mads the perfect plus-one for the wedding. Next thing she knows she's navigating a series of disastrous dates that include some major misunderstandings and mishaps.

All of a sudden Mads finds her heart tugged in different directions: to Connor, the boy next door who knows her best. To Marco, the former classmate who knows how to push all her buttons. And to some of the new suitors who surprisingly aren't all bad.

As the wedding draws nearer, Mads has to figure out who she wants most as a dance partner, while also making sure her brother isn't making the biggest mistake of his life.

This book is a YA and I loved the book so much. The story was fun to read and the characters were well developed. Pacing was good throughout the book as well.

Amazon 

I’ve Watched You Die by Karina Banks

4 Stars

A young woman, cursed. A rebellious prince in hiding. A forbidden love that will threaten two worlds…

There are two main things I’ve learned since my life turned upside down. The first is, if you speak of someone’s death before it happens, you’ll be blamed for murder. The second? If the hottest guy you’ve ever seen kisses you, and thanks you for saving his life, don’t argue.

I watched him die, over and over. So many times. The vision is always the same and there is never one damn thing I can do to save him. I don’t know why I can’t dream about normal things, like going to school naked, or spiders. I hate spiders. No, I’m lucky enough to see strangers at the moments of their deaths. The only thing keeping me sane is knowing the visions aren’t real. Until the accident. The blood. He dies in my arms. At least, I thought he did. But now he’s here, telling me I saved his life. Telling me unbelievable stories about monsters and gods and destiny. Promising to protect me. If none of this is real, why am I afraid of the creatures hunting me? And if I saved his life, why are the nightmares back, stronger than ever? What is this thing lurking inside me, eager to strike? I don’t know, but I’m freaking out. I’m afraid what I think is real, isn’t. And what I know is not, just might be.

So many feelings with this book. I saw the ending coming through most of the book but getting there was worth it. Dani is for the most part a strong woman just trying to figure things out with this weird ability. This weird ability draws Zelik to her and draws her into his world. I loved Dani and Zelik. Even the cliffhanger ending made sense. I loved seeing the growth in this book and can’t wait to see where book 2 is going to take us.

Book 1 Academy for Gods and Freaks

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To Be her First by Elicia Hyder

 

2 Star

Journey hasn’t had any of her first yet. At 16 she’s just coming into her own when she’s got the bad boy and the MVP vying for her attention. Which guy will get her?

I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the right mood for a YA esq type book but this one just hit wrong for me. It was very angsty and maybe just wasn’t what I wanted when I read it. The writing was good and it held my interest. I will be giving the next one a chance.

Book .5 Journey Durant

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Sanctuary by Melle Amade

 

2 Star

Shae’s crush is dating her best friend. To help her get over the hurt she decides to go with the bad boy Aiden. When secrets are revealed what will she do?

Everyone is lying to her. Her parents are abusive and it's never explained why. Her friends suck a lot and not in a good way. Everyone just kind of bad for her and leave her out which ends up hurting her. Then it ends on a cliffhanger. Rope on all future books.

Amazon

Nightworld Academy: Term One by L.J. Swallow

 

3 Star

I have visions and to protect a classmate from being killed I deck a guy. This saves her but gets me booted from school. Shipped off to a boarding school.  I thought it would be for troubled kids but instead it's normal kids until the night I pledge and then everything changes.

Maeve is a whiney, irresponsible, and self-centered. Yes this is a teenager but it was to enth degree. She comes off as too Stupid to live. The author also spends more time telling than showing which sucks. I have a collection of some of these books and haven't finished them.

Book 1 Nightworld Academy

Amazon

Sweet Sixteen by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

Gin Fielding is just waiting for graduation. She wants to keep her head down until she can finally get out of the small town in Missouri. One day she comes across a younger girl being beaten by a senior. She intervenes and takes the beating meant for the younger girl. Come to find out the girl was Football player Chase Matthews little sister. He is determined to thank her by making her popular. He offers her a rose to be apart of the super elite Sweet Sixteen. She refuses as she 1. Doesn’t want to be popular, 2. Is sure she doesn’t want to be apart of the horrible tradition of Sweet Sixteen, and 3. Doesn’t want her first time to be with the entire football team. Chase is baffled by her decision to not participate in Sweet Sixteen. Her refusal also leads to problems for both of them. Gin and Chase are brought closer together and are forced to take on the darker side of small-town life.

I loved this book. I met the author at an event. I’ve never read anything by her and got two books from her. This one and Anton (review coming). I picked up the other one as it was a hockey book and then asked for a recommendation as I didn’t want to get two hockey books. She suggested this one but said it was weird. I don’t think it was weird at all. It is very much a good high school drama book and it just hit the right spot and the subject matter was spot on for what’s been going on in the world today. I loved how Chase has the epiphany about the Sweet Sixteen being bad and learns and grows. Even though it has a lot of undertones for the me too movement it isn’t preachy in anyway. If you like high school drama books this will hit all the right notes. Best purchase of the book event I was at followed closely by her other book.

Amazon

A Dance with the Fae Prince by Elise Kova

3 Star

Katria knew she would be married off at some point so there was no point in falling in love. When her stepmother marries her off to mysterious Lord Fenwood she was only upset at leaving her horse and her sister behind. When she is given strange rules about not ever looking at her husband or leaving the house at night, she agrees to them until her curiosity got the better of her. When she stumbles into a ritual where her husband is supposed to get the magic from the ancient kings and steals the magic, she’s stuck traversing the fae wilds until they can find a way to give the magic over. When it comes time to make the transfer will long held secrets change everyone’s mind?

Where I liked the first book this one wasn’t as enjoyable to me. Part of that came from wanting more with the characters we met in the first one. This book follows with Greek myth but is Psyche and Eros. Katria can’t ever look at her husband and she does, and all sorts of chaos happens. I was very bored with the beginning of the story and when she finally sees what is going on the story picked up for me. I also didn’t feel Katria’s stepfamily really got their comeuppance.  Overall, it was an ok story but not as good as the first one.

Book 2 Married to Magic

Amazon

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

 

3.5 Star

Humans were hunted by the elves for centuries until a deal was struck that one specific woman would be selected to be queen. The queen was there to help the elf king. For the woman it is a death sentence. Luella is glad she isn’t this woman and spends her days learning herbology and how to take care of the towns people. Until one day it is discovered that she was the one marked to be queen. Taken from all she’s known and just wanting to go home she is very confused by her new role. She plans on finding some way to get out of Midscape and go home to her people. Will the elf king Eldas be able to help Luella get everything she wants?

This book is listed as a YA book, but it doesn’t read as a YA. It very much reads as a fantasy book for an adult. The only thing that might label it as a YA would be Luella being 19. There is a lot of adult content in the book. It is a riff off of Hades and Persephone. Eldas being Hades coming and taking Luella away from her life. Luella eventually falls for Eldas and doesn’t want to leave him just like in the myth. Overall, the story was interesting take on the myth, and it was enjoyable.

Book 1 Married to Magic

Amazon

Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Albert Marrin

 

4 Star

In the beginning of 1918 World War I was being fought when troops began coming down with influenza.  By the summer, a second wave of the epidemic was traveling around the world, through the troops and civilians alike.  Influenza killed more millions more soldiers than the war had.  In the space of eighteen months 500 million people contracted influenza.  They can only estimate the lives lost was between 50 and 100 million. 

This book was so intriguing.  It combines historical information with science.  It also looked at the impact that was had on the world due to the epidemic.  This is written for a young adult audience which makes it more readable then some other books on the subject.  I really liked seeing the different pictures Marrin selected for the book.  It helps enhance what you’re reading.  It was interesting to see how disease was handled in the early 20^th century.  If you’re looking for a quick but informative read this definitely one you should pick up.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

 

5 Star

Yelena is prepared to die for the murder she committed.  It didn’t matter if it was justified or not, she is still a murder.  She is next for the noose when the Commander of Ixia is in need of a new food taster.  The rule of the country is the position must be offered to the next to die.  Yelena figures it’s worth it to stay alive.  With this new position she risks assassination by anyone who wants her dead as well as the commander.  With all the secrets she carries she’s not sure if she made the right decision or if it would have been better to take the noose.

This story was amazing.  I loved seeing the relationship change and grow between Yelena and Valek.  As well as her relationships with Ari and Janco.  It was interesting that it is considered a romance, but the romance doesn’t really happen until the very end.  Finding out about all of Yelena’s secrets was a journey I enjoyed reading.  The world building in the book was spot on.  It was interesting and complex.  I am looking forward to seeing how the next book turns out.

Book 1 Chronicles of Ixia

Crossroads by Lori L. Otto

5 Stars

Will Rosser is smart, creative, and driven.  Forced to move back to New York City leaving his friends and girl friend behind made Will resent his mother even more.  He is given a trip back to Utah to visit his friends over the summer.  Instead of the fun time he expected he is betrayed by those he trusted the most.  This betrayal will change the path he was on. 

I really enjoyed this book.  It is a short story I received free with a book order and I thought I would give it a chance.  I had never read anything by this author before and after some research it looks like this is number 14 ish.  There were some references that probably would be better understood if I had read previous books, but it really does stand on its own merits.  This book leads into more books in the series.  The next one in the series is what happens to Will.  Even though I figured out the betrayal before it was written the journey was still interesting to read.  The pacing for the story was spot on even though it was a short story.  The characters had depth and you got the angsty teen in the story.  I really want to know what happens to Will so I will be checking out the next book in the series.

Book 1 Love Will

Chasing the Shadows by Maria V Snyder

5 Stars

Lyra Daniels died for sixty-six seconds.  To keep her safe she’s going to remain dead.  With her new name, job, and ability to manipulate the q-net she needs to find a way around the looters block to let everyone know what is going on with the Terracotta Warriors and silent planets.  A protector ship is on the way to them but the planet might not last long enough for them to arrive with extra help.  Lyra can’t let them win so she do anything she can to keep them all safe.

 

I loved this book so much.  Where the first book was slow to start this book wasn’t at all like that.  The pacing in this book was spot on and the story itself progressed nicely.  There was growth in all of Lyra’s relationships.  I liked seeing the growth in Lyra’s skills and how she was willing to do anything to protect those she loved.  I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens next.

Book 2   Sentinels of the Galaxy

Navigating the Stars by Maria V Snyder

4 Stars

Seventeen-year old Lyra Daniels doesn’t want to move again as it will mean her friends are 50 years in the past.  She can’t blame her parents for wanting to explore the galaxy but that doesn’t make her any happier about once again going through a time jump to a new planet.  She blames the Q-Net for allowing massive space travel by folding space.  When new Terracotta Warriors are discovered on a planet her parents are asked to travel to this new planet to continue their research.  When they arrive the research team starts to find problems with other Terracotta Warrior planets going silent.  Lyra needs to find out why the planets are going silent to prevent it from happening to her new home.

I love Maria V Snyder books.  This one was one I struggled with.  It was very slow to start but there was a point in the story about a third of the way in that it picked up for me and I couldn’t put it down.  Part of that was this was the first book in a new series and so there was a lot of explaining of the world.  The other part is like all of her other books she has a lot of information in her books.  Once I got past the slow part it was a really good book.  Even though Lyra was living in space the struggles she had was just like every other teen.  Almost an adult and wanting freedoms and her parents wanting to protect her.  Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Book 1 Sentinels of the Galaxy

Eyes of Tamburah by Maria V. Snyder

5 Stars

Disclaimer on the book today.  This book is originally published in Australia.  I am a fan and had to order this book from an independent book store in Pennsylvania to read this book.  All of this and the book was well worth the wait to get the book and I’m going to have to wait until sometime next year for it to be released in the USA but if you are interested in the book you can order from this website:

https://www.cupboardmaker.com/

And you will get it signed.  Now onto the book review.

Shyla was born sun-kissed.  She should have been left out to die when she was born but she was taken in by the monks.  They raised her until adulthood where she was given the option to join the monks or be cast out.  She would still be acknowledged but not family or allowed past the first library.  She chooses to go out and see the world.  Shyla tries to start a business finding lost artifacts but because she is sun-kissed finds it difficult to find work until the princes’ archaeologist, Banqui, asks her to find things for him.  He continues to use her serves and sends people to her until the Eyes of Tamburah are stolen from him.  They are believed to have magical powers that many people wish to have to gain control of the water resources.  This would allow them to control the city and take power away from the prince.  Shyla is forced into tracking down the thief to save Banqui from the tender mercy of the Water Prince.  With the Water Prince’s Captain Rendon following her she is determined to find the eyes and save lives as soon as possible.

Like all of the other books Maria V Snyder has written the writing was spot on.  The pacing was spot on.  I never felt there was any lag in the story.  Even though it was the first in a new series there wasn’t a lot of world building lag.  You get the whole story and the world building as we went and it made sense.  I know some people didn’t like Shyla with Rendor but I liked them together.  They just worked.  He was willing to take a backseat to her wants so she could grow and become the person she was meant to be.  He sets aside his wants to help her.  Even though he had done some bad things in his life he was trying to make amends for those bad things.  I can’t wait for the next book to come out to see how the story is continued.  Highly recommend reading this book.

Book 1 Archives of the Invisible Sword

04 Circle of Magic Briar - Tamora Pierce - 4 stars

An epidemic takes over Winding Circle.  The four kids and their mentors have to figure out who started it and how to stop it.



The best thing about the book is the four are not all together all the time.  They have to work through not being together and still solve the problem.



Unfortunately, this book seemed rushed at the ending.  The book was slow going until the end when it turned into a rush.



01 Sandry - 4 stars

02 Tris - 4 stars

03 Daja - 4 stars

03 Circle of Magic Daja - Tamora Pierce - 4 stars

The four kids and their mentors travel to Gold Ridge Mountains.  The area is suffering through a drought and Sandry's uncle is looking into aiding them.  Daja creates a living art piece while Sandry tries to figure out how enmeshed the four of their magics are.

Daja learning more about how her magic works a good part of this book.  She also has to learn to stand up for herself.  This one was a bit slow as they spent more time talking about things rather than doing them.


01 Sandry - 4 stars
02 Tris - 4 stars

02 Circle of Magic Tris - Tamora Pierce - 4 stars

Continuing from book one, the four kids are working with their magic and their teachers when their home Winding Circle is attacked by pirates.  The pirates are using new and unusual magics to raid Winding Circle.

As the story of these four continues, the growing friendship between the kids is delightful.
Unfortunately the ending seemed rushed.  It seemed like she had a slow build up and reached a point where she had to rush to conclude.

01 Sandry - 4 stars

01 Circle of Magic Sandry's book - Tamora Pierce - 4 stars

 Four kids with four different powers are brought together to be taught how to be mages.  Sandry is a noble woman with a gift of weaving.  Briar is a thief with the gift of plants.  Daja is a cursed traveler with the gift of metal working.  Tris is a gifted weather mage.

The interaction between the four kids is wonderful.  At the beginning they were very distrustful of each other but by the end of the book were they all come together and trust each other.

The only bad thing about this book - it was a slow start and jumped around a lot.  This led to some confusion over the timeline.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the book.