Book Review | Emmy & Oliver | Robin Benway

Book Review | Emmy & Oliver | Robin BenwayEmmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
Published by Harper Teeen on June 23, 2015
Genres: Contemporary YA, Relationships, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Also by this author: Also Known As, Going Rogue
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four-half-stars

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.

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Book Review | A Court of Thorns and Roses | Sarah J. Maas

I received this book for free from a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | A Court of Thorns and Roses | Sarah J. MaasA Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Narrator: Jennifer Ikeda
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Published by Bloomsbury on May 5, 2015
Genres: Faeries, Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Length: 16 hours, 7 minutes
Format: ARC
Also by this author: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, The Queen of Shadows
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five-stars

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

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Book Review | The Girl at Midnight | Melissa Grey

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!)
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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.

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Book Review | The Start of Me and You | Emery Lord

Book Review | The Start of Me and You | Emery LordThe Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Published by Bloomsbury on March 31, 2015
Genres: Contemporary YA, Relationships, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!)
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five-stars

Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamics, The Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

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Book Review | The Sin Eater’s Daughter | Melinda Salisbury

I received this book for free from a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Sin Eater’s Daughter | Melinda SalisburyThe Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
Series: The Sin Eater's Daughter #1
Published by Scholastic on February 24, 2015
Genres: Fantasy YA
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!)
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four-half-stars

I am the perfect weapon.
I kill with a single touch.

Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has it’s price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla’s fatal touch.

Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla’s chilling role to the girls she truly is.

Yet in a court as dangerous and the queen’s, some truths should not be told…

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Book Review | The Orphan Queen | Jodi Meadows

I received this book for free from a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Orphan Queen | Jodi MeadowsThe Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
Series: The Orphan Queen #1
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on March 10, 2015
Genres: Fantasy YA, Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
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five-stars

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

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Book Review | Cress | Marissa Meyer

Book Review | Cress | Marissa MeyerCress by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 4, 2014
Genres: Dystopian YA, Science Fiction
Pages: 560
Format: ARC
Also in this series: Cinder, Scarlet, Cinder, Fairest
Also by this author: Cinder, Scarlet, Cinder, Fairest
Source: a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!)
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five-stars

 Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

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Book Review | Scarlet | Marissa Meyer

I received this book for free from a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Scarlet | Marissa MeyerScarlet by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 5, 2013
Genres: Dystopian YA, Science Fiction
Pages: 452
Format: ARC
Also in this series: Cinder, Cinder, Cress, Fairest
Also by this author: Cinder, Cinder, Cress, Fairest
Source: a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!)
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five-stars

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

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Book Review | Catching Jordan | Miranda Kenneally

I received this book for free from a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Catching Jordan | Miranda KenneallyCatching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks #1
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on December 1, 2011
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary YA, Relationships, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 283
Format: ARC
Also in this series: Jesse's Girl
Also by this author: Jesse's Girl
Source: a fellow blogger (thanks for sharing!)
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four-stars

What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she’s ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he’s also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan’s feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart’s on the line?

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