Category Archives: Young Adult

Excerpt: Legacy by Ellery A. Kane [Giveaway]

27 June, 2016 3:00 am , 1 Comment ,

LegacyLegacy
(Legacy, #1)
By: Ellery A. Kane
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Sept. 5, 2014
Genre: Dystopian YA

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How do you want to feel today?

In 2041, the choice is yours.

San Francisco is deserted, the Bay Bridge bombed, and the BART subway trains grounded. The Guardians, members of an elite and mysterious government-appointed military police force, are maintaining order at all costs—thanks to emotion-altering drugs like Emovere that suppress fear and anxiety. Lex Knightley, daughter of a prominent forensic psychiatrist, risks entering the devastated city to partner with the Resistance, a group of rebels intent upon exposing the dangers of Emovere. Lex discovers an ally in Quin McAllister, a magnetic Guardian Force recruit with a haunting past that binds them together. As she uncovers the secrets of the Guardian Force and confronts the truth about her family, Lex begins to realize that even those closest to her are not quite who they seem.

 

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Posted in: YA Sci-fi , Tagged:

Excerpt: Race Girl by Leigh Hutton [Giveaway]

17 June, 2016 3:23 am , 3 Comments ,

RaceGirlRace Girl
(The Go Girls Chronicles #3)
By: Leigh Hutton
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: April 3, 2016
Genre: YA Romance

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Fresh on the heels of Michelle Payne’s historic Melbourne Cup win, comes a blockbuster Australian story about a Queensland girl and the ‘race that stops a nation’ . . .

Tully Athens has always dreamed of following in the footsteps of her hero Michelle Payne. Of living up to the Athens name and becoming the third generation of women from her family to rule the track. But Tully’s never been sure she’s got the nerve, and when her mother is killed in a horse racing accident, her whole world is shattered.

Six months later, in the heat of a Queensland summer, sixteen-year-old Tully is ready to face her fears. But getting back in the saddle leads to a whole lot more than she bargained for, with an out of control crush on the boy from their rival thoroughbred farm – the gorgeous but cocky larrikin Brandon Weston – and a forgotten filly with stardom in her eyes . . .

When faced with the most difficult decision of her life, will Tully choose to train and race her new filly in Melbourne? Or will she sacrifice it all to fight for love on the land that feeds her soul?

It’s only when tragedy rips everything from her that Tully finds a strength and courage she never knew she had, in this action-packed novel of passion, adventure and determination.

 

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Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

6 June, 2016 3:44 am , 3 Comments ,

CruelBeautyCruel Beauty
(Cruel Beauty Universe, #1)
By: Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: Jan. 28 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:

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Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: The Colony by Kathleen Groger

1 June, 2016 3:34 am , 7 Comments ,

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00004]The Colony
(A Rasper Novel, #1)
By: Kathleen Groger
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: April 5, 2016
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Rating:

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Trust no one.

Never go out in the dark.

Always have a weapon.

Sixteen-year-old Val lives by these three rules etched on her arm. Her rules and her gun are the only things standing between her and assimilation by hordes of human-looking aliens she calls Raspers.

By day, Val gathers supplies. By night, she hides and wishes she could go back in time…before her family died…before the annihilation…before the Raspers began stalking her and demanding she join their collective.

But when the Raspers attack in broad daylight, the truth becomes startlingly clear.

They’re evolving.

A fellow survivor crashes into Val’s life. Adam’s full of charm and promises—like rumors of a safe haven—but there’s something wrong. He’s survived with no supplies, no weapons…no plans. Time is running out. With the formula for survival shifting around her, Val must decide how many rules she’s willing to break to escape the Colony.

 

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Review: Flying Blind by Deborah Cooke

25 May, 2016 3:40 am , 2 Comments ,

FlyingBlindFlying Blind
(The Dragon Diaries Trilogy, #1)
By: Deborah Cooke
Publisher: NAL
Published: June 7, 2011
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:

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Zoë Sorensson is perfectly normal, except she’s been told she’s destined for great things. Zoë’s the one female dragon shapeshifter of her kind. But Zoë is at the bottom of the class when it comes to being Pyr and her powers are AWOL, so she’s sent to a Pyr boot camp.

Zoë quickly realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday, because the Pyr are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line-unless Zoë and her friends can work together and save their own kind.

 

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Excerpt: Underground by Alice Rachel [Giveaway]

20 May, 2016 3:52 am , 5 Comments ,

undegroundUnderground
(Underground, #1)
By: Alice Rachel
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Oct. 30, 2015
Genre: Distopia YA Romance

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Love is a taboo, a mere fantasy— foreign, unreachable, and dangerous.

Raised in a society where women have no rights, seventeen-year-old Thia Clay holds little hope for a bright future. When her parents sell her into marriage to elite member William Fox, Thia slowly gives in to despair. William is nothing but a cruel, selfish young man with no other interest than to serve his own.

Born illegally and forced to hide from the authorities his entire life, nineteen-year-old Chi Richards is an active member of the Underground—a rebellious group seeking to overthrow the government.

Chi only has one goal—to rescue his parents from the work camp they were forced into.

Meeting Thia was never part of the plan, and neither was falling in love with her.

If caught in their forbidden relationship, Thia and Chi could face a death sentence, and when devastating secrets surface from Chi’s past, Thia has to rely on her instincts to make a choice that could save her or destroy her forever.

 

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Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

18 May, 2016 3:31 am , 4 Comments ,

Faking NormalFaking Normal
By: Courtney C. Stevens
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: Feb. 25, 2014
Genre: YA
Rating:

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Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, Young Adult , Tagged: ,

Excerpt: The Colony by Kathleen Groger [giveaway]

11 May, 2016 3:36 am , 8 Comments ,

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00004]The Colony
(A Rasper Novel, #1)
By: Kathleen Groger
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: April 5, 2016
Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Goodreads

Trust no one.

Never go out in the dark.

Always have a weapon.

Sixteen-year-old Val lives by these three rules etched on her arm. Her rules and her gun are the only things standing between her and assimilation by hordes of human-looking aliens she calls Raspers.

By day, Val gathers supplies. By night, she hides and wishes she could go back in time…before her family died…before the annihilation…before the Raspers began stalking her and demanding she join their collective.

But when the Raspers attack in broad daylight, the truth becomes startlingly clear.

They’re evolving.

A fellow survivor crashes into Val’s life. Adam’s full of charm and promises—like rumors of a safe haven—but there’s something wrong. He’s survived with no supplies, no weapons…no plans. Time is running out. With the formula for survival shifting around her, Val must decide how many rules she’s willing to break to escape the Colony.

 

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Excerpt: Love Charms and Other Catastrophes by Kimberly Karalius [Giveaway]

9 May, 2016 3:10 am , 5 Comments ,

lovecharmsLove Charms and Other Catastrophes
(Grimbaud, #2)
By: Kimberly Karalius
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

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Aspiring love charm maker Hijiri Kitamura was excited to come back to Grimbaud for her sophomore year-until she learns about the upcoming charm making competition. Grimbaud has just started to recover from the tyranny of Zita’s love fortunes and it would be too easy for the winning charm maker to take Zita’s place. The only solution is for Hijiri, with the support of her friends and fellow rebels, to win the contest herself.

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done, especially when Love itself has decided to meddle in Hijiri’s life. Concerned that it’s favorite charm maker has given up on finding a boyfriend of her own, Love takes matters into its own hands and delivers the perfect boyfriend to her in a giftwrapped box…literally.

 

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Review: Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano

4 May, 2016 3:29 am , 5 Comments ,

holding smokeHolding Smoke
By: Elle Cosimano
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: May 3, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:

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John “Smoke” Conlan is serving time for two murders but he wasn’t the one who murdered his English teacher, and he never intended to kill the only other witness to the crime. A dangerous juvenile rehabilitation center in Denver, Colorado, known as the Y, is Smoke’s new home and the only one he believes he deserves.

But, unlike his fellow inmates, Smoke is not in constant imprisonment. After a near death experience leaves him with the ability to shed his physical body at will, Smoke is able to travel freely outside the concrete walls of the Y, gathering information for himself and his fellow inmates while they’re asleep in their beds. Convinced his future is only as bright as the fluorescent lights in his cell, Smoke doesn’t care that the “threads” that bind his soul to his body are wearing thin-that one day he may not make it back in time. That is, until he meets Pink, a tough, resourceful girl who is sees him for who he truly is and wants to help him clear his name.

Now Smoke is on a journey to redemption he never thought possible. With Pink’s help, Smoke may be able to reveal the true killer, but the closer they get to the truth, the more deadly their search becomes. The web of lies, deceit, and corruption that put Smoke behind bars is more tangled than they could have ever imagined. With both of their lives on the line, Smoke will have to decide how much he’s willing to risk, and if he can envision a future worth fighting for.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy, YA Suspense , Tagged: ,