Category Archives: Young Adult

Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

13 July, 2020 11:34 am , 4 Comments ,

A Curse So Dark and Lonely
(Cursebreakers #1)
by Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Publication date: Jan. 29, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

10 July, 2020 1:29 am , 2 Comments ,

Cinderella Is Dead
by Kalynn Bayron
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Publication date: July 7, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: The choosing by Rachelle Dekker

8 May, 2020 8:58 am , 3 Comments ,

The Choosing
(Seer #1)
by Rachelle Dekker
Publisher:Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date: May 19, 2015
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Rating:

“Not to be Chosen would yield a cruel fate of my own making.”

Like all citizens since the Ruining, Carrington Hale knows the importance of this day. But she never expected the moment she’d spent a lifetime preparing for—her Choosing ceremony—would end in disaster. Ripped from her family, she’ll spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. She knows it’s her duty to follow the true way of the Authority.

But as Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. The whispers contradict everything she’s been told; yet they resonate deep within.

Then Carrington is offered an unprecedented chance at the life she’s always dreamed of, but she can’t shake the feeling that it may be an illusion. With a killer targeting Lints and corruption threatening the highest levels of the Authority, Carrington must uncover the truth before it destroys her.

 

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Review: Crave by Tracy Wolff

10 April, 2020 1:04 am , 7 Comments ,

Crave
(Crave #1)
by Tracy Wolff
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Published: April 7, 2020
Genre: Paranormal Young Adult Romance
Rating:

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy, YA Romance , Tagged: ,

Sneak Peek Wednesday: The Helmont Academy of Alchemy by Meg Kassel

8 April, 2020 8:28 am , 2 Comments ,

The Helmont Academy of Alchemy
(The Silent Sister #1)
by Meg Kassel
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: March 20, 2020
Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

If I had known my thoughts would kill her, I would have thought about something else.

When the sudden discovery of my mind control ability causes the death of my high school nemesis, my mom sends me to the Helmont Academy of Alchemy, a boarding school for kids with staggering IQs and supernatural talents.

My mom has a lot of secrets, including a connection to this school that makes its scary headmistress watch me like a hawk. When students who possess uncanny mental abilities (like mine), begin falling ill with a mysterious ailment and are “quarantined” on the forbidden thirty-third floor, I know something terrible is happening at this school. The terrifying reality is clear—The Helmont Academy wants more than just good grades from kids like me.

With the help of a pair of telepathic twins and a secretive, but fascinating boy who does wild things to my heart, I find myself navigating unlikely friendships and unraveling a secret society’s dark plot to develop my mind control ability into a devastating weapon.

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Fantasy

Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

30 March, 2020 9:37 am , 3 Comments ,

Epic Fail
by Claire LaZebnik
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: Aug. 2, 2011
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating:

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

– As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school–not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
– As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

 

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Posted in: YA Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

16 December, 2019 4:12 pm , 6 Comments ,

On the Come Up
by Angie Thomas
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: Feb 5. 2019
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary , Tagged: ,

Review: Find Me Their Bones by by Sara Wolf

25 November, 2019 5:44 pm , 3 Comments ,

Find Me Their Bones
(Bring Me Their Hearts #2)
by Sara Wolf
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication date: Nov. 5, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

No one can save her.

In order to protect Prince Lucien d’Malvane’s heart, Zera had to betray him. Now, he hates the sight of her. Trapped in Cavanos as a prisoner of the king, she awaits the inevitable moment her witch severs their magical connection and finally ends her life.

But fate isn’t ready to give her up just yet.

With freedom coming from the most unlikely of sources, Zera is given a second chance at life as a Heartless. But it comes with a terrible price. As the king mobilizes his army to march against the witches, Zera must tame an elusive and deadly valkerax trapped in the tunnels underneath the city if she wants to regain her humanity.

Winning over a bloodthirsty valkerax? Hard. Winning back her friends before war breaks out? A little harder.

But a Heartless winning back Prince Lucien’s heart?

The hardest thing she’s ever done.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

The Bookworm Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts

15 November, 2019 7:29 am , 3 Comments ,

The Bookworm Crush
by Lisa Brown Roberts
Publication date: Oct. 1, 2019
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating:

This spinoff of The Replacement Crush featuring Amy and Toff is sure to melt your heart.

Shy bookworm Amy McIntyre is about to compete for the chance to interview her favorite author, who hasn’t spoken to the press in years. The only way to win is to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, but that level of confidence has never come easy.

The solution? A competition coach. The problem? The best person for the job is the guy she’s secretly crushing on…local surfer celebrity Toff Nichols.

He’s a player. He’s a heartthrob. He makes her forget basic things, like how to breathe. How can she feel any confidence around him?

To her surprise, Toff agrees to help. And he’s an excellent teacher. Amy feels braver—maybe even brave enough to admit her feelings for him. When their late night practices become less about coaching and more about making out, Amy’s newfound confidence wavers.

But does Toff really like her or is this just another lesson?

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Beasts of the Frozen Sun by Jill Criswell (Giveaway)

25 September, 2019 12:07 pm , 8 Comments ,

Beasts of the Frozen Sun
(Frozen Sun Saga #1)
by Jill Criswell
Publisher: Blackstone
Publication date: Aug. 6, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust.

Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people’s souls, to see someone’s true essence with only a touch of her hand.

When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland–one of the fearful marauders from the land of the Frozen Sun–Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith. He confides in her that he’s been cursed with what his people call battle-madness, forced to fight for the warlord known as the Dragon, a powerful tyrant determined to reignite the ancient war that Aillira started.

As Lira and Reyker form a bond forbidden by both their clans, the wrath of the Dragon falls upon them and all of Glasnith, and Lira finds herself facing the same tragic fate as her ancestor. The battle for Lira’s life, for Reyker’s soul, and for their peoples’ freedom has only just begun.

 

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