Category Archives: Ya Fantasy

Excerpt: Songs of Seraphina by Jude Houghton [Giveaway]

31 October, 2016 2:43 am , 5 Comments ,

songsofseraphina Songs of Seraphina
By: Jude Houghton
Publisher: Tenebris Books, Grimbold Books
Publication Date: June 30, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

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Some battles bleed so much, and for so long, that the earth never truly forgets their dead. Some battles are born of oppression, and some of greed, and some simply because it was written in the stars.

Three sisters—Charlemagne, Cairo and Pendragon Agonistes—are sent from America to England to live with their eccentric grandparents after their mother disappears and their father falls to pieces. But before the girls have time to find their feet, Charlemagne is married off to a dead man, Penny takes a nap and wakes up as a boy, and Cairo is swept into a dangerous romance with a man who wants her for more than her considerable charm. With the girls wrapped up in a conflict they barely understand, they don’t notice that their grandmother is transforming, or that the two demigod assassins who took their mother are now coming for them—if one of them can get over his crisis of conscience.

In this richly painted tale, at whose heart is the unbreakable bond of family and blood, the world of Seraphina collides with our own as three unique girls are dragged into twilight lives past, fighting for vengeance, retribution, and the survival of their exiled people.

 

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Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne

26 October, 2016 2:37 am , 10 Comments ,

harrypotter Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two
(Harry Potter #8)
By: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
Publisher: Little, Brown UK
Publication Date: July 31, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Script
Rating:

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Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

 

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Guest Post: The Harvesting by Melanie Karsak [Giveaway]

19 October, 2016 2:53 am , 5 Comments ,

harvesting The Harvesting
(The Harvesting #1)
By: Melanie Karsak
Publisher: Clockpunk Press
Publication Date: January 8, 2014
Genre: Horror, Young Adult

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It’s all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Layla Petrovich has spent her whole life running away from her hometown of Hamletville. Raised by the town’s medium, and dubbed the “weird” girl for her fascination with swords, the last thing Layla wants is to go home.

But when she receives a desperate call to return just as a mysterious outbreak sweeps the country, Layla’s instincts urge her to go. Good thing, because the dead are rising.

Layla, however, isn’t entirely on her own. With her psychic powers growing, surely everything will turn out okay, right?

Not so fast. Just when Layla believes she might survive the apocalypse, a sinister and ancient force rises from the shadows to finish mankind for good.

Because the truth is, we were never alone in this world.

 

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Posted in: Horror, YA Fantasy, Young Adult , Tagged: ,

Excerpt: The Shattered Seam by Kathleen Groger [Giveaway]

28 September, 2016 2:34 am , 6 Comments ,

shatteredseam The Shattered Seam
(Seam Stalkers, #1)
By: Kathleen Groger
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: Sept. 13, 2016
Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult

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Spending spring break on an isolated island rumored to be haunted is not sixteen-year-old Sam’s idea of fun. Spending spring break with her uncle and his ghost-hunting film crew on an isolated island is even worse.

Way worse.

Her family’s secrets—and a genetic ability she can no longer deny—surface, along with the ghost of a rich serial killer who left behind a trail of trapped souls.

And he’s not through yet.

With only one chance for escape, Sam must embrace her family’s curse and close the Seam between the living and the dead. Or be lost, forever.

 

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Review: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

1 August, 2016 3:37 am , 4 Comments ,

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How to Hang a Witch
By: Adriana Mather
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published: July 26, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:

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Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren’t enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials.

Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with the Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it’s Salem. But history is about to repeat itself.

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Excerpt: Somniare by DT Dyllin [Giveaway]

25 July, 2016 3:34 am , 2 Comments ,

sominareSomniare
(Somniare #1)
By: D.T. Dyllin
Publisher: Self- Published
Published: July 19, 2016
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

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Remy Novem was murdered…

But she didn’t die.

Forced to escape to Somniare, a dream landscape, Remy must somehow survive living nightmares, and endless torment without using her magic. Her only hope for freedom is to hitch a ride with a human back into reality, tricking the poor creature into believing no harm will befall them.

Remy isn’t troubled by the fact that she must kill to live…

Until love changes everything.

 

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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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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: 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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