Book Review | The Wrath and the Dawn | Renee Ahdieh

Jul 20

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

Book Review | The Wrath and the Dawn | Renee AhdiehThe Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on May 12, 2015
Genres: Fantasy YA, Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 388
Format: eARC
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
five-stars

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

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

Book Review | The Conspiracy of Us | Maggie Hall

Mar 11

I received this book for free from eARC 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 Conspiracy of Us | Maggie HallThe Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Series: The Conspiracy of Us #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on January 13, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary YA, Thriller, Travel
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: eARC from the Publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

A fast-paced international escapade, laced with adrenaline, glamour, and romance–perfect for fans of 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.

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

Book Review | The Young Elites | Marie Lu

Jan 19
Book Review | The Young Elites | Marie LuThe Young Elites by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on October 7, 2014
Genres: Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Pages: 355
Format: Hardcover
Also by this author: Legend
Source: Bought it
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-half-stars

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult

Book Review | Sister’s Fate | Jessica Spotswood

Oct 23
Book Review | Sister’s Fate | Jessica SpotswoodSister's Fate by Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #3
Published by Putnam Juvenile on August 14, 2014
Genres: Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Paranormal YA, Sisters, Witches, Young Adult
Pages: 360
Format: Hardcover
Also in this series: Born Wicked, Star Cursed
Also by this author: Born Wicked, Star Cursed
Source: Bought it
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five-stars

A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without revealing their powers—as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she’s torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she’s certain she can never forgive Maura’s betrayal. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult

Book Review | The 5th Wave | Rick Yancey

Aug 22
Book Review | The 5th Wave | Rick YanceyThe 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on May 7, 2013
Genres: Aliens, Post-Apocalyptic YA, Science Fiction
Pages: 592
Format: Hardcover
Source: BookExpo
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five-stars

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

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

Book Review | Star Cursed | Jessica Spotswood

Jun 27

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 | Star Cursed | Jessica SpotswoodStar Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #2
Published by Putnam Juvenile on June 18, 2013
Genres: Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Magic, Paranormal YA, Witches, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Also in this series: Born Wicked, Sister's Fate
Also by this author: Born Wicked, Sister's Fate
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
five-stars

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate’s friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn’t want to be a weapon, and she doesn’t want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood’s schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she’ll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess’s quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult

Book Review | Born Wicked | Jessica Spotswood

Mar 22
Book Review | Born Wicked | Jessica SpotswoodBorn Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on February 7, 2012
Genres: Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Magic, Paranormal YA, Witches, Young Adult
Pages: 330
Format: Hardcover
Also in this series: Star Cursed, Sister's Fate
Also by this author: Star Cursed, Sister's Fate
Source: Bought it
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-half-stars

 

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word… especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

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

Book Review | Legend | Marie Lu

Dec 1

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

Book Review | Legend | Marie LuLegend by Marie Lu
Series: Legend #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on November 29, 2011
Genres: Dystopian YA, Families, Relationships, Young Adult
Pages: 305
Format: ARC
Also by this author: The Young Elites
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-half-stars

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult