Category Archives: Young Adult

Sneak Peek Wednesday: The Queen’s Crown by Jennifer Anne Davis


The Queen’s Crown
(League of Rulers #1)
Jennifer Anne Davis
Publisher: Reign Publishing
Publication date: Oct. 19, 2023
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Eighteen-year-old Princess Sabine Ludwig of Bakley thought her biggest problem was finding a man remotely interesting to dabble with while trying to fill her days with something other than knitting or drinking tea. But when her dear sister is brutally murdered in a foreign kingdom a week before she’s to be married, Sabine suddenly wishes for boring, ordinary days again.

Seeking retribution, Sabine decides to take her sister’s place and marry the mysterious king of Lynk. It’s the only way she can hunt down and find the killer. It’s the only way she can get revenge. When she finds the king far more appealing than she’d intended, it becomes difficult to keep her wits about her and remember why she’s there.

Thrown into a world of lies, power struggles, and seduction, Sabine must learn to navigate through the foreign kingdom’s dangerous court as she seeks her sister’s killer. The closer she gets to discovering who it is, the more she questions who she can trust—including herself.

 

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Review: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

With the Fire on High
Elizabeth Acevedo
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Publication date: May 7, 2019
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain—and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life—and all the rules everyone expects her to play by—once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free.

 

 

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Review: Ashes by M.K. Harkins

Ashes
(Modern-Day Fairy Tale #1)
by M.K. Harkins
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: May 27, 2022
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating:

If she thought college applications were complicated, just wait until she catches feelings for the newest celebrity in town.

Ashley Adams doesn’t have time for haters. Already too busy dealing with dead bodies after her stepmother purchased a mortuary, she is ready to put the lid on her judgmental peers and finally bury her high school experience. But her focus is shattered when a charming pop-star-turned-student needs her help evading his crazed fans.

The last place heartthrob Harry James wants to be is back in school. Sentenced to finish his senior year after a case of accidental arson, the singer longs to return to the stage. But he never expected to meet a girl who could see through the fame to the real person inside.

Surprised by the chemistry between them, Ashley is shocked when Harry gives her the cold shoulder. But with his publicist forbidding him from dating her, Harry must choose between fame or love.

Can Ashley and Harry survive the turmoil threatening to tear them apart?

Ashes is a fun and snarky standalone YA romance. If you like captivating characters, emotional twists and turns, Fairies and Cinderella retellings, then you’ll adore MK Harkins’ fast-paced tale.

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Labyrinth Lost
(Brooklyn Brujas #1)
by Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication date: Aug. 1, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

The only way to get her family back is to travel to a land in between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic.

At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she’s not sure she can trust, but who may be Alex’s only chance at saving her family.

 

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Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Aurora Rising
(The Aurora Cycle #1)
by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: May 7, 2019
Genre: Young Adult SciFi
Rating:

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

 

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Review: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Midnight Sun
(The Twilight Saga #5)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: Aug. 4, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Rating:

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.

This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

 

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Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn
(The Twilight Saga #4)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: Aug. 2, 2008
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

WHEN YOU LOVED THE ONE WHO WAS KILLING YOU, IT LEFT YOU NO OPTIONS. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

TO BE IRREVOCABLY IN LOVE WITH A VAMPIRE is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

NOW THAT BELLA HAS MADE HER DECISION, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life – first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse – seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

THE ASTONISHING, BREATHLESSLY anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Fate of Dragons by Alisha Klapheke

Fate of Dragons
(Dragons Rising #1)
by Alisha Klapheke
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: March 27, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

A flood is coming. The Sea Queen has a mad plan to drown the world.

Only the magic of the Earth Queen can stop her.

Vahly, the last human, was born to fill that role and wield the magic necessary to fight the rising oceans and save the dragons.

But Vahly is the world’s biggest disappointment. So far, she possesses no magic whatsoever.

When she finds an ancient scroll that mentions a human power ritual conducted deep in the homeland of the elves, she gathers her dragon allies and journeys to see the king of that forest-dwelling race.

Welcomed into a place more lovely than any dream, will Vahly find the truth about her people’s past and wake her magic or will a twisted and powerful elven lord destroy her chance at saving the world?

 

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Review: Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

Bookish and the Beast
(Once Upon a Con #3)
by Ashley Poston
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication date: Aug. 4, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating:

Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.

On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.

When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual.

But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

 

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Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse
(The Twilight Saga #3)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: Aug. 7, 2007
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Raiting:

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

 

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