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Book Review: Killing November by Adriana Mather

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**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: YA, Mystery Release Date: March 26, 2019  Description: "  November is trapped.  At the mysterious Academy Absconditi, a school that's completely off the grid, there's no electricity, no internet, and a brutal eye-for-an-eye punishment system. Classes include everything from knife-throwing and poisons to the art of deception. And the other students? All children of the world's most elite strategists, in training to become assassins, spies, and master manipulators. November Adley doesn't know why she's been sent to this place, or the secrets that make up its legacy, but she'll quickly discover that allies are few in a school where competition is everything. When another student is murdered, all eyes turn to November, who must figure out exactly how she fits in before she is found guilty of the crime...or becomes the killer's next victim. ...

Book Review: The Dare (Detective Natalie Ward Book 3) by Carol Wyer

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**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.** Genre: Mystery/Thriller Release Date: April 25, 2019  Description: " Jane’s daughter is a good girl. What is she hiding? When thirteen-year-old Savannah Hopkins doesn’t come straight home from school, as she always does, her mother Jane immediately raises the alarm. Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward whose daughter Leigh is the same age as Savannah. Soon Natalie’s worst fears are confirmed when the teenager’s broken body is found in nearby shrubland. Evidence points towards a local recluse, but just as the net is closing around him, one of Savannah’s friends, Harriet, is reported missing. As Natalie delves into the lives of both girls, she soon discovers a sinister video on their phones, daring the girls to disappear from their families for 48 hours. But Natalie isn’t quick enough for this killer, and she is devastated to find Harriet’s body on a fl...

Book Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

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**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

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**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

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**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

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**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

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**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 lif...