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.

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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?

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Book Review | Being Sloane Jacobs | Lauren Morrill

Jan 13

Being Sloane Jacobs Lauren MorrillTitle: Being Sloane Jacobs
Author: Lauren Morrill (web | twitter)
Genre: Contemporary YA
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Delacorte
Release date: January 7, 2014
Source: ARC from the publisher via NetGalley

Summary: Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.

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Waiting on Wednesday (33): The Glass Casket

Sep 11

Waiting on WednesdayThe Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

 

Book cover by The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

Death hasn’t visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills. Days later, the riders’ bodies are found, and though no one can say for certain what happened in their final hours, their remains prove that whatever it was must have been brutal.

Rowan’s village was once a tranquil place, but now things have changed. Something has followed the path those riders made and has come down from the hills, through the forest, and into the village. Beast or man, it has brought death to Rowan’s door once again.

Only this time, its appetite is insatiable.

So, this cover. I love it, but I can’t figure out why it looks like she’s about to make herself puke all over her nice manicure. Or like she is licking the cream cheese frosting off her fingers, which is at least understandable. But even considering the finger-in-the-mouth thing, the cover looks so atmospheric, which seems to be perfect for THE GLASS CASKET. The fantasy/paranormal/mystery vibe I get from the synopsis just rings so many of my bells.

Also, there are so many elusions to the Snow White, Rose Red fairy tale, just in the title and the cover and synopsis: the pop of red, the glass casket itself, the main character’s name being Rose–I’m incredibly intrigued by this beast and the death and the “insatiable appetite”! THE GLASS CASKET can’t come out fast enough.

THE GLASS CASKET is coming out on February 11, 2014 from Delacorte

The Glass Casket
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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.

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