Posts

Showing posts from February, 2019

Book Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA, Fantasy Release Date: April 2, 2019  Description: " Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, dreaming of an unremarkable life. But when her beloved father is found dead, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of a surprisingly unstable kingdom. What’s more, Hesina believes that her father was murdered—and that the killer is someone close to her. Hesina’s court is packed full of dissemblers and deceivers eager to use the king’s death for political gain, each as plausibly guilty as the next. Her advisers would like her to blame the neighboring kingdom of Kendi’a, whose ruler has been mustering for war. Determined to find her father’s actual killer, Hesina does something desperate: she enlists the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death, since

Book Review: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA Release Date: August 6, 2019  Description: " In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed. Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last--the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge--and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Bec

Book Review: Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy Release Date: May 7, 2019  Description: " Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal -- but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that? Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change -- there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure! Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart. Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magi

Book Review: What Happens When by Samantha Boyette

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA, LGBT, Romance Release Date: March 12, 2019  Description: " For Molly Kennan, senior year is already an epic disaster. It feels like the whole school knows she made out with Lily at that party, and now she’s accidentally outed herself as a lesbian. Her ex-best friend is trying to ruin her life, and school generally sucks. All she wants is to drown her sorrows in sweet potato fries, but she finds herself tongue-tied by the diner’s new waitress, Zia. Zia is way out of Molly’s league. Older, beautiful, and definitely way more sophisticated. It’s probably just wishful thinking, but Molly can’t help wondering if maybe Zia is flirting with her. Despite Zia’s always-there boyfriend, Molly falls hard for her, and Zia says she feels the same way. So then why doesn’t Zia break up with her boyfriend, and why does she keep so many secrets? Then there’s Lily, who she can’t seem

Book Review: Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA, Contemporary Release Date: February 26, 2019  Description: " Every Friday night, best friends Delia and Josie become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of the campy creature feature show  Midnite Matinee  on the local cable station TV Six. But with the end of senior year quickly approaching, the girls face tough decisions about their futures. Josie has been dreading graduation, as she tries to decide whether to leave for a big university and chase her dream career in mainstream TV. And Lawson, one of the show's guest performers, a talented MMA fighter with weaknesses for pancakes, fantasy novels, and Josie, is making her tough decision even harder.  Scary movies are the last connection Delia has to her dad, who abandoned the family years ago. If  Midnite Matinee  becomes a hit, maybe he'll see it and want to be a part of her life again. And may

Book Review: The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA, Mystery Release Date: April 2, 2019  Description: " Grace Carter's mother --- the celebrity news anchor GG Carter --- is everything Grace is not. GG is a star, with a flawless wardrobe and a following of thousands, while Grace --- an aspiring astrophysicist --- is into stars of another kind. She and her mother have always been in different orbits. Then one day GG is just ... gone. Cameras descend on their house, news shows speculate about what might have happened and Grace's family struggles to find a new rhythm as they wait for answers. While the authorities unravel the mystery behind GG's disappearance, Grace grows closer to her high school's golden boy, Mylo, who has faced a black hole of his own. She also uncovers some secrets from her mother's long-lost past. The more Grace learns, the more she wonders. Did she ever really know her mother?

Book Review: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult Release Date: May 14, 2019  Description: " Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas. Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo. Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bli

Book Review: One Little Secret by Cate Holahan

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: Mystery, Thriller Release Date: July 9, 2019  Description: " Everyone has a secret. For some, it's worth dying to protect. For others, it's worth killing. The glass beach house was supposed to be the getaway that Susan needed. Eager to help her transplanted family set down roots in their new town - and desperate for some kid-free conversation - she invites her new neighbors to join in on a week-long sublet with her and her workaholic husband. Over the course of the first evening, liquor loosens inhibitions and lips. The three couples begin picking up on the others' marital tensions and work frustrations, as well as revealing their own. But someone says too much. And the next morning one of the women is discovered dead on the private beach. Town detective Gabby Watkins must figure out who permanently silenced the deceased. As she investigates, she lear

Book Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance Release Date: May 14, 2019  Description: " When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaig

Book Review: The Promise by Teresa Driscoll

Image
**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: Mystery, Thriller Release Date: February 7, 2019  Description: "  It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave. Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them. Though Carol has distanced herself from her former friends, the three are adamant that the truth must never come to light, even if the memory still haunts them. But when some shocking news threatens to unearth their dark secret, Beth enlists the help of private investigator Matthew Hill to help her and Sally reconnect with estranged Carol ­– before the terrible act they committed as teenagers is revealed. Beth wishes she could take back the vow they made. But somebody is watching and will stop at nothing to ensure the secret stays buried. Now, with her beloved family in peril, can Beth still keep the p