Book Review | The Girl at Midnight | Melissa Grey

Jun 18
Book Review | The Girl at Midnight | Melissa GreyThe Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
Series: The Girl at Midnight #1
Published by Delacorte on April 28, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Pages: 357
Format: ARC
Source: a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!)
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review | Princess of Thorns | Stacey Jay

Feb 16

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Princess of Thorns | Stacey JayPrincess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
Published by Delacorte on December 9, 2014
Genres: Fairy tales, Fantasy YA, Retelling, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-half-stars

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

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?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review | Meant To Be | Lauren Morrill

Dec 7

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Meant To Be | Lauren MorrillMeant To Be by Lauren Morrill
Published by Delacorte on November 13, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It’s one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she’s queen of following rules and being prepared. That’s why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that’s also why she’s chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB (“meant to be”).

But this spring break, Julia’s rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she’s partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | The Unfailing Light | Robin Bridges

Oct 20

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Unfailing Light | Robin BridgesThe Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges
Series: The Katarina Trilogy #2
Published by Delacorte on October 9, 2012
Genres: Fantasy YA, Historical Fiction, Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Also by this author: The Gathering Storm
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She’s about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia’s arch nemesis–who she thought she’d destroyed–is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She’ll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina’s horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tour, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | Don’t You Wish | Roxanne St. Claire

Sep 7

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Don’t You Wish | Roxanne St. ClaireDon't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire
Published by Delacorte on July 10, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Time Travel
Pages: 357
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad’s whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she’s Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she’s the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. Here she’s got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she’s ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she’s offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn’t as simple as you think.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review | Cross My Heart | Sasha Gould

May 31

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Cross My Heart | Sasha GouldCross My Heart by Sasha Gould
Series: Cross My Heart #1
Published by Delacorte on March 13, 2012
Genres: Europe, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 262
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

Venice, 1585.

When 16-year-old Laura della Scala learns that her older sister, Beatrice, has drowned, she is given no time to grieve. Instead, Laura’s father removes her from the convent where he forcibly sent her years earlier and orders her to marry Beatrice’s fiancé, a repulsive old merchant named Vincenzo. Panicked, Laura betrays a powerful man to earn her way into the Segreta, a shadowy society of women who deal in only one currency—secrets. The Segreta seems like the answer to Laura’s prayers. The day after she joins their ranks, Vincenzo is publicly humiliated and conveniently exiled. Soon, however, Laura begins to suspect that her sister’s death was not a tragic accident but a cold-blooded murder—one that might involve the Segreta and the women she has come to trust.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 2012 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review | Wanderlove | Kirsten Hubbard

Mar 12

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Wanderlove | Kirsten HubbardWanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Published by Delacorte on March 13, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA
Pages: 338
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria’s a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan’s a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they’ve got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can’t run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 2012 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | The Gathering Storm | Robin Bridges

Jan 19

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Gathering Storm | Robin BridgesThe Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
Series: Katerina #1
Published by Delacorte on January 10, 2012
Genres: Fantasy YA, Historical Fiction, Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Also by this author: The Unfailing Light
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
three-stars

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe’s royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina’s strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar’s standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina’s help to safeguard Russia, even if he’s repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 2012 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , , ,