Category Archives: Ya Fantasy

Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

8 June, 2015 2:53 pm , 5 Comments ,

16068780The Jewel
(The Lone City, #1)
By: Amy Ewing
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: Sept. 2, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
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Goodreads

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence… and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

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Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

3 June, 2015 3:20 am , 4 Comments ,

17167166Crown of Midnight
(Throne of Glass, #2)
By: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: Aug. 27, 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
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Goodreads

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie… and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Excerpt & Guest Post: Death Wish by Megan Tayte

20 February, 2015 8:49 am , Leave a Comment ,

DWDeath Wish
(Ceruleans, #1)
By: Megan Tayte
Publisher: Heaven Afire
Published: Feb. 7, 2015
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Goodreads | Amazon

IN SEARCH OF THE MEANING OF DEATH, SHE’LL FIND THE MEANING OF LIFE.

The Ceruleans: mere mortals infused with power over life and death. Five books; one question: If the might of the heavens were in your hands, would you be sinner or saint?

Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Blake is haunted by death. Her estranged sister has made the ultimate dramatic exit. Running away from school, joining a surfing fraternity, partying hard: that sounds like Sienna. But suicide? It makes no sense.

Following in her sister’s footsteps, Scarlett comes to the isolated cove of Twycombe, Devon, with grand plans to uncover the truth. Alone. But she hasn’t reckoned on meeting two boys who are determined to help her. Luke: the blue-eyed surfer who’ll see the real Scarlett, who’ll challenge her, who’ll save her. And Jude: the elusive drifter with a knack for turning up whenever Scarlett’s in need.

As Scarlett’s quest for the truth unravels, so too does her grip on reality as she’s always known it. Because there’s something strange going on in this little cove. A dead magpie circles the skies. A dead deer watches from the undergrowth. Hands glow with light. Warmth. Power.

What transpires is a summer of discovery. Of what it means to conquer fear. To fall in love. To choose life. To choose death.

To believe the impossible.

 
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Posted in: Excerpt, guest post, Paranormal Romance, YA Fantasy, Young Adult

Review: Collide by Melissa West

18 February, 2015 3:08 am , Leave a Comment ,

CollideCollide
(The Taking, #3)
By: Melissa West
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Published: Dec. 2, 2014
Genre: Sci-Fi Young Adult
Rating:
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Goodreads | Amazon

Military legacy Ari Alexander has survived alien spies, WWIV, and a changing world order. But when the new leader of Earth uses Jackson—the only boy she’s ever let herself care about—to get to her, Ari has no choice but to surrender.

To free Jackson, she agrees to travel to the national bases to train others to fight. What she discovers is a land riddled with dying people. Ari has the power to heal by turning the fighters into aliens—half-breeds like her. If she succeeds, together, they have a chance at overthrowing the alien leader, Zeus. But if she fails, everyone she holds dear will be wiped away forever.

Once again, everything Ari’s come to believe is thrown into question. In a world of uncertainty, loyalties are tested, lies are uncovered, and no one can be trusted. If Ari and Jackson have any hope at survival and at preserving a life for the future, they must fight the final war with their eyes wide open.

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Posted in: YA Fantasy, Young Adult