Tag Archives: series

Book Title:
Miss Mayhem
Book Author:
Rachel Hawkins
Book Series:
Rebel Belle, #2
Publishing Date:
April 7th, 2015 (Paperback March 1st, 2016)
Publisher:
Speak (Penguin)
Date Read:
April 3rd, 2016
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins is sassier than ever in this page-turning follow up to Rebel Belle, perfect for fans of Buffy and Veronica Mars.

Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and best friend Bee has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can return her focus to the important things in life: school, canoodling with David, her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie, and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant.

Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or make her more powerful than ever.

My Review

A few weeks ago I read and reviewed the absolutely fantastic Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins.  It was one of those books that were on my list for ages, and I just never managed to get around to reading.  After … Continue reading

4 stars
3 Comments
Book Title:
Crossing the Line
Book Author:
Meghan Rogers
Book Series:
The Raven Files, #1
Publishing Date:
April 12th, 2016
Publisher:
Philomel Books
Date Read:
April 15th, 2016
Source:
ARC from publisher

Synopsis

If Jason Bourne were a teenaged girl…

Jocelyn Steely was kidnapped as a child and raised in North Korea as a spy. When her agency sends her to the U.S. to infiltrate the very group her parents once worked for, Jocelyn jumps at the chance to turn double agent and finish off her kidnappers once and for all. She convinces the head of the American spy agency to trust her, but it’s not quite as simple as that: Jocelyn has to fight the withdrawal symptoms from the drug that the North Koreans used to keep her in line, and her new fellow spies refuse to trust their former adversary. Worst of all, there might be some new information to uncover about her parents - if she even wants to find out.

This action-packed spy thriller is part Gallagher Girls, part Alex Rider, and part Bourne Identity.

My Review

I’ve found myself really drawn into YA spy thrillers ever since I read They Call Me Alexandra Gastone by T.A. Maclagan a while back.  Before reading that, I hadn’t really been interested in spy thrillers/action novels, but that really changed … Continue reading

4.5 stars
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Book Title:
A Study in Charlotte
Book Author:
Brittany Cavallaro
Book Series:
Charlotte Holmes, #1
Publishing Date:
March 1st, 2016
Publisher:
Katherine Tegen Books
Date Read:
February 26th, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via Edelweiss - Thank you!

Synopsis

The first book in a witty, suspenseful new trilogy about a brilliant new crime-solving duo: the teen descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. This clever page-turner will appeal to fans of Maureen Johnson and Ally Carter.

Jamie Watson has always been intrigued by Charlotte Holmes; after all, their great-great-great-grandfathers are one of the most infamous pairs in history. But the Holmes family has always been odd, and Charlotte is no exception. She’s inherited Sherlock’s volatility and some of his vices—and when Jamie and Charlotte end up at the same Connecticut boarding school, Charlotte makes it clear she’s not looking for friends.

But when a student they both have a history with dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

My Review

A Study in Charlotte was an interesting mystery novel that plays on the Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet.  While I honestly haven’t read that, I have to say, this book was written pretty well – it was like … Continue reading

4 stars
4 Comments
Book Title:
Bluescreen
Book Author:
Dan Wells
Book Series:
Mirador, #1
Publishing Date:
February 16th, 2016
Publisher:
Balzer + Bray
Date Read:
February 24th, 2016

Synopsis

Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as long as you have the right connections. One of those connections is a djinni—a smart device implanted right in a person’s head. In a world where virtually everyone is online twenty-four hours a day, this connection is like oxygen—and a world like that presents plenty of opportunities for someone who knows how to manipulate it.

Marisa Carneseca is one of those people. She might spend her days in Mirador, the small, vibrant LA neighborhood where her family owns a restaurant, but she lives on the net—going to school, playing games, hanging out, or doing things of more questionable legality with her friends Sahara and Anja. And it’s Anja who first gets her hands on Bluescreen—a virtual drug that plugs right into a person’s djinni and delivers a massive, non-chemical, completely safe high. But in this city, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and Mari and her friends soon find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that is much bigger than they ever suspected.

Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, returns with a stunning new vision of the near future—a breathless cyber-thriller where privacy is the world’s most rare resource and nothing, not even the thoughts in our heads, is safe.

My Review

Bluescreen is a gripping science fiction thriller that gives us an interesting look into what our future might end up looking like, particularly if we keep making technological advances at such an accelerated rate. Marisa loves playing the virtual reality … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
Riders
Book Author:
Veronica Rossi
Book Series:
Riders, #1
Publishing Date:
February 16th, 2016
Publisher:
Tor Teen
Date Read:
February 17th, 2016

Synopsis

Nothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine, and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

They fail.

Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

But will anyone believe him?

My Review

Having never read Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky series, I was incredibly excited to read this and discover what was essentially a new author for me.  I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews for this book before it was … Continue reading

4 stars
3 Comments
Book Title:
Dreamfever
Book Author:
Kit Alloway
Book Series:
Dreamfire, #2
Publishing Date:
February 23rd, 2016
Publisher:
St. Martin's Griffin
Date Read:
February 20th, 2016

Synopsis

Finding out that she is the True Dream Walker hasn't gone at all the way Joshlyn Weaver would have expected it to. The only special gift she seems to have is an ability to create archways, which really isn't that special. In addition to her inability to connect with the Dream, she has also started having nightmares that are so terrible she can't tell anyone about them. Not even Will.

Just when Josh thought her life couldn't get any more complicated, the lost dream walker princess returns to claim her parents' right to the throne, right as the Lodestone party threatens to take control of the government during the upcoming Accordance Conclave.

With the clock running down, Josh must rely on not only her friends, but also her enemies, to stop the radicals from taking power and controlling the Dream. But how can she expect to save everyone else when she's struggling to pick up the pieces of her own shattered life?

Dreamfever will have you on the edge of your seat as Kit Alloway takes you even deeper into the world of the dream walkers, and will leave you begging for more!

My Review

About a month ago, I read Kit Alloway’s debut novel, Dreamfire.  When I had finished that, I honestly had to wonder what one earth had taken me so long to read it.  It was a creative, imaginative journey of a … Continue reading

4 stars
2 Comments
Book Title:
Kingdom of Ashes
Book Author:
Rhiannon Thomas
Book Series:
A Wicked Thing, #2
Publishing Date:
February 23rd, 2016
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Date Read:
February 11th, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via Edelweiss - Thank you!

Synopsis

Asleep for a hundred years, awoken by a kiss, Aurora’s life was supposed to be a fairytale. But since discovering that loyalty to the crown and loyalty to her country are two very different things, Aurora knows she can only dream of happily ever after. Once the enchanted princess, savior of her people, she is now branded a traitor.

Aurora is determined to free her home from the king’s tyrannical rule, even if it means traveling across the sea to the kingdom of the handsome and devious Prince Finnegan—someone who seems to know far more about her magic than he should. However, Finnegan’s kingdom has perils of its own, and any help he gives Aurora will come at a price.

As Aurora and Finnegan work together to harness her power—something so fiery and dangerous that is as likely to destroy those close to Aurora as it is to save them—she begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding the curse that was placed on her over a century before…and uncover the truth about the destiny she was always meant to fulfill.

Brimming with captivating fantasy and life-threatening danger, the sequel to A Wicked Thing takes Sleeping Beauty on an adventure unlike any she’s ever had before.

My Review

If you’ve read A Wicked Thing, Kingdom of Ashes is a must read (especially if you liked the first book in the series).  I finally got to read A Wicked Thing recently (I have no idea what took me so … Continue reading

4 stars
2 Comments
Book Title:
A Wicked Thing
Book Author:
Rhiannon Thomas
Book Series:
A Wicked Thing, #1
Publishing Date:
February 24th, 2015
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Date Read:
February 5th, 2016
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

My Review

I remember first hearing about this book, and being really, really excited for it.  Sleeping Beauty has always been my favorite fairy tale, and anything that is a kind of retelling of it is something I absolutely must read.  For … Continue reading

3 stars
1 Comment
Book Title:
The Conspiracy of Us
Book Author:
Maggie Hall
Book Series:
The Conspiracy of Us, #1
Publishing Date:
January 13th, 2015
Publisher:
Speak (Penguin)
Date Read:
January 26th, 2016

Synopsis

A fast-paced international escapade, laced with adrenaline, glamour, and romance--perfect for fans of Kiera Cass and Ally Carter

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family--but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she's falling in love with.

My Review

I might be a little behind here, but wow is this book amazing.  I know it came out over a year ago now, and I’ve had it on my to be read list since it came out, and I finally … Continue reading

4.5 stars
2 Comments
Book Title:
The Impostor Queen
Book Author:
Sarah Fine
Book Series:
The Impostor Queen, #1
Publishing Date:
January 5th, 2016
Publisher:
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Date Read:
December 24th, 2015
Source:
ARC from publisher - Thank you!

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

My Review

Before I started reading this book, I hadn’t read anything else by Sarah Fine, but I was curious, because I know that she has quite a few successful books out.  So when I saw this, and read that synopsis, I … Continue reading

4.5 stars
3 Comments