Category Archives: Young Adult

Review: Mia and the Bad Boy by Lisa Burnstein

20 May, 2015 5:34 am , 12 Comments ,

25446202Mia and the Bad Boy
(Backstage Pass, #2)
By: Lisa Burnstein
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Published: May 19, 2015
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

This good girl’s about to meet her match…

Ryder Brooks is living the dream—he’s famous, loved by millions of girls, and miserable. All he really wants is to write his own music, not Seconds to Juliet’s sugary sweet pop. In order to do that, though, the “bad boy” of the band will have to play by the rules. And that includes behaving with his new—and super cute—über-good-girl tutor.

Mia Reyes is in fangirl heaven. Tutoring her favorite member of her favorite band? It’s a dream come true…until it turns into a complete nightmare. Ryder is nothing like she thought. He’s crude, arrogant, and pretty much a total jerk. And the worst part? She’s roped into pretending to be his girlfriend so that no one finds out he’s being tutored. Fake kisses, plenty of PDA, and even sharing his hotel room…

But sometimes even the baddest of bad boys needs a little redemption.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, YA Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis

18 May, 2015 1:38 pm , 4 Comments ,

24402708Gathering Frost
(Once Upon a Curse, #1)
By: Kaitlyn Davis
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Feb. 17, 2015
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
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Goodreads

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.

Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care…even to love. Working as a member of the queen’s guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen’s runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Jade is tasked with an unusual mission–to let the Prince capture her, to make him trust her, and then to betray his secrets to the crown. In return, she’ll earn her freedom. But life outside the queen’s realm is more than Jade bargained for. Under Asher’s relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she’s ever known–and, more importantly, whose side she’s really on.

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged:

Review: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep

14 May, 2015 10:09 am , 8 Comments ,

22715908Cold Burn of Magic
(Black Blade, #1)
By: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Kensington
Published:April 28, 2015
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
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Goodreads

It’s not as great as you’d think, living in a tourist town that’s known as “the most magical place in America.” Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.

I try to keep out of it. I’ve got my mom’s bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend’s pawn shop, and I have to make a call–get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn’t. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I’m stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I’m going to end up just like her. . .

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Last Year’s Mistake by Gina Ciocca

9 May, 2015 9:30 am , 2 Comments ,

21825486Last Year’s Mistake
By: Gina Ciocca
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

Before:
Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey’s parents decided to move away, she couldn’t wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn’t ready to let her go…

After:
Now it’s senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David’s family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey’s second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

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Posted in: YA Romance

Review: Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini

5 May, 2015 9:27 am , 2 Comments ,

21900150Halfway Perfect
By: Julie Cross and Mark Perini
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: May 5, 2015
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Eve’s time as a fashion model nearly destroyed her-now she’s determined to build a career behind the camera lens. But landing a coveted photography internship brings her face to face with her dark past-and her ex.

While Eve is snapping pictures, up-and-coming male model Alex is launching his career-which, for him, involves maintaining a fake relationship with his (secretly) underage co-star, Elana.

But Alex is falling for Eve, and Eve won’t let herself get hurt again. If Alex can pull off a fake love with Elana, can he convince Eve to risk a secret affair with him?

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary , Tagged: , ,

Guest Post with Sarah Nicolas, author of Dragons are People, Too.

1 May, 2015 8:30 am , 4 Comments ,

dragons are people too tour banner
 
author
Sarah Nicolas (1)

Sarah is a 31-year-old YA author who currently lives in Orlando, FL. She believes that some boys are worth trusting, all girls have power, and dragons are people too.

She’s a proud member of the Gator Nation and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering, but has switched careers entirely. She now works as an Event Coordinator for a County Library. She also blogs at YAtopia.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 
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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

10 April, 2015 9:55 am , 10 Comments ,

10507293The Selection
(The Selection, #1)
By: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: April 24, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself–and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Righteous by Kim Lehman

2 April, 2015 9:08 am , 10 Comments ,

25048015Righteous
By: Kim Lehman
Publisher: Lucky Stars Publishing
Published: Feb. 24, 2015
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Goodreads | Amazon

A story about a troubled girl and her effed up, going-nowhere life.

Quick witted, sharp-tongued Righteous Andrews is troubled by a broken past, fed up with her present circumstances, and resolved to a hopeless future.

On the first day of her senior year of high school she gets in trouble, landing in the principal’s office . . . again. There she meets Colt Jackson, the new kid with a troubled past of his own. Despite her attempts to avoid him, Colt seems to show up everywhere she doesn’t want him to be, and soon they strike up an unexpected friendship. Righteous is wary. Friendships aren’t her thing. But something about Colt is different; something about him makes her curious, makes her wonder . . .

Is Colt Jackson really different from everyone else? Does happiness and love truly exist? Or will every relationship in her life always end in lies and heartache?

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Posted in: YA Contemporary , Tagged:

Excerpt: Riddle of Fate by Tania Johansson

27 March, 2015 8:57 am , 2 Comments ,

RoFRiddle of Fate
By: Tania Johansson
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: May 29, 2014
Genre: Paranormal YA

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Khaya’s life, a life the Order say was never meant to be, is thrown into turmoil when she discovers she has a second ability. The Company who employs people like her – with rare and special abilities – insists that having more than one inevitably leads down a dark spiral into madness. So they are watching and waiting, ready to terminate her at the first sign of trouble.

Now, on the run from the Company’s agents while trying to prove her sanity, Khaya realises they are not the only ones she should fear. Angels are working towards her demise as well.

The question that haunts her is this: What did she do that was terrible enough to elicit the wrath of angels? And can she trust the mysterious Derrin, or is he the cause of all her tribulations?

 

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Fantasy , Tagged:

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

23 March, 2015 7:50 am , 7 Comments ,

16034235Throne of Glass
(Throne of Glass, #1)
By: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: Aug. 2, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
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Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,