The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Like I said in my last post, my disdain for holiday reads has completely vanished this year, so I had to pick up a few new books to get into the spirit of the season. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand was one of them. This YA fiction is a modern twist on the classic story of A Christmas Carol. 

Holly Chase is not a nice girl. When she is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who beg her to change her ways, Holly laughs it off and refuses. Then she dies. At least, she thinks she does.

When she wakes up, trapped somewhere between dead and alive, she is the newest employee of the top-secret company Project Scrooge, the same organization who tried to save her before her death. Now she has to work with them year after year as the Ghost of Christmas Past to help save each year's chosen Scrooge from the same fate that Holly endured.

This book was really cute, and had some unexpected twists as well! I liked how this really didn't end up being centered around romance or a relationship (although parts of it do lend itself to that).  I was very satisfied with the ending. It reminded me a lot of that really obscure movie from ABC, Teen Spirit. It was a little slow in parts, but I really liked all the characters. I mean come on, they all had nicknames based on Dickens' stories! 

This story definitely has the perfect Christmas message, and would be enjoyable for both teens and adults (even if you don't commonly read YA!). I can see this being a read that I revisit each holiday season.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Easy Prey by Catherine Lo

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This is the second computer/tech read that I've picked up in the last few weeks. Easy Prey by Catherine Lo follows three teenagers: Mouse, Jenna, and Drew. After being thrust into a group project together for law class, these three unlikely friends have to work together. Mouse is a computer nerd set on getting into MIT to prove his father wrong. Jenna, after having some personal photos broadcast over the internet, is a changed girl, rebellious and jaded. And Drew is a jock, known for being a womanizer and a player. Somehow these three had access to a teacher's racy photographs, and when the photos go viral, they have to figure out who leaked them. 

This story was actually really good! It's told from the points of view of each of our three main characters. Its focus on internet privacy and online rights, in addition to victim shaming, was definitely relevant to society today. I liked how all three characters were sort of intertwined before they got put in a group together, but the forced pairing really brought out their relationships with each other. The twist wasn't really predictable, per se, but definitely made sense when you finally learned it.

This was a quick, relevant read with some good characters and a pretty solid, thrilling plot. 

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Amulet Books for an advanced copy of this read! Easy Prey by Catherine Lo releases October 16th!

I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz

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If you take Indiana Jones, add it to The DaVinci Code, and throw in a female protagonist, you get this book. I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz was something unique and exciting, and I really enjoyed this read. Memphis (or M for short) had a pretty unusual family. Growing up with a doctor mother and an archaeologist father, she saw more of the world as a child than most people see in a lifetime. But when her mother passed away, she grew even closer with her father, and helped him with his research. Now, her father has died also, and she is stuck with guardians that know nothing about her passions or the world she grew up in. Enter the posh and handsome Ashwin, a cult member who worships an ancient Egyptian god, who comes with news that M's father is actually still alive and being held captive.

Now the two must beat the odds together, searching for pieces of an ancient relic that they can trade for M's father's freedom. Using Ash's resources and M's knowledge of history and archaeology, along with an ancient map, they travel the world searching for these pieces, and find more than just the pieces themselves along the way.

This read was really fun! It was adventurous and engaging, although I do think it was a little bit drawn out at points. I really liked both Memphis and Ashwin as characters, and enjoyed seeing the story from both of their perspectives. I was also very grateful that there wasn't an unnecessary romance in this book, as tends to be the norm in a lot of YA fiction. The few twists and turns were perfect for keeping you on your toes as you read, and I was surprisingly pretty satisfied with the ending.

This is a genre that isn't seen too often within YA. It seems that writers have determined that once you're past middle grade level, you don't have an interest in action and adventure stories anymore, when many teens and adults do still really enjoy them! If you have any interest at all in ancient history or Egyptian mythology, you will really love this read.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Wednesday Books/St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this adventurous read! I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz is out now, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Letting Go by Deborah Markus

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This book is so unique and different, and I had no idea I would enjoy it as much as I did when I decided to read it. The Letting Go by Deborah Markus is a thought provoking story about a girl who believes she is not allowed to have anyone or anything she loves.

Emily is a loner, not because she wants to be, but because she has to be. You see, everyone (and everything-pets included), that she loves, is brutally murdered. Emily has finally figured out the rules: don't get too close to any living thing, or if you do it will be killed.

Holing herself up in an artistic boarding school, Emily is viciously cruel to everyone that crosses her path. But this is for their own benefit. She doesn't want them to end up like her mother, father, best friend, or dog. At school, Emily focuses on the one thing that she loves that cannot be taken away from her: Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson is already dead, and words cannot be killed, so this is the one thing Emily allows herself to embrace and love.

But when a dead body turns up on the steps of the boarding school, Emily is convinced that it has to do with her, even though she never knew the dead man. Has she made a mistake? Was she wrong about the rules? And just as this is happening, another girl at the school insists on getting close to Emily at the possible expense of her own life. What can Emily do to stop all the death around her?

I loved everything about this book. From the poetry interspersed throughout to Emily's introspective and meticulous thought process, I was captured from the first page. It actually took me a while to get through this read, not because it was dull or boring, but because it made me think so much and I had to keep putting the book down to reflect.

I was a huge fan of the lesbian romance in this book, and loved that it was subtle and not at all pushy. This is definitely not a love story, and this element was not the focus of the plot. The twist really got me as well, and normally I can see these things coming from a mile away! Overall, this was a very unusual and unique read that I can definitely see myself revisiting in the future.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A huge thanks to Sky Pony Press for an advanced copy of this fantastic read! The Letting Go by Deborah Markus was just released this week, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Campfire by Shawn Sarles

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Give me a good scary story and I am all in! This book delivered just that. Campfire by Shawn Sarles follows main character Maddie as she goes on a camping trip with her extended family. Immediately, Maddie is attracted to their hot guide Caleb, and conspires with her best friend Chelsea (who has also accompanied them on the trip) to make a move. 

The first few days of the trip go fairly well, with everyone gathering to tell scary stories around the campfire at night. But then a bear scare puts people on edge and everything goes downhill from there. Suddenly the scary stories they have been telling begin to come true, and the fun family trip becomes a fight for survival.

I really enjoyed this book! The scary stories told were actually very creepy, and even though this is YA, I was actually freaked out a little even as a 28-year-old! And horror is my jam, so that's saying something. There were a lot of unexpected twists in this as well that I didn't see coming, and since I can usually predict things pretty well, that was definitely impressive.

I thought the main characters were fine. I didn't love them but I didn't hate them, and nothing really jumped out at me to sway me one way or another. But this was a much more plot-driven than character-driven story, so this was fine with me. I really appreciated how this book didn't paint the picture of the perfect family, but rather showed the tumultuous intricacies that make up real life. This really is the perfect story to sit on your deck with on a summer evening, or even take with you on a camping trip...if you dare.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A huge thanks to JIMMY Patterson Books for sending me an advanced copy of this spooky summer read! Campfire by Shawn Sarles is out TODAY, July 17th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Your Destination Is on the Left by Lauren Spieller

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When you think summer, don't you typically think of road trips? I know I do! Your Destination Is on the Left by Lauren Spieller follows Dessa Rhodes, a teenage girl who travels the country with her family in an RV. Her family is part of a caravan of three families who do everything together, even voting on the future of its members. But Dessa wants more from life, specifically to be an artist. 

After getting rejected from all the art schools she applies to, she is unsure what direction her life will take. Just when she thinks all hope is lost, she gets an internship with an artist in Santa Fe, and it's during this time that Dessa learns more than she ever thought possible, not only about art, but also about herself and what she really wants out of life.

I thought this was a super cute summer read! Dessa was easy to identify with, and I loved seeing her get stronger and more self-aware as the story progressed. I really enjoyed the side characters in this book, especially Taryn and Fiona! I thought they were great motivators for Dessa and helped her articulate her true thoughts and wants versus just going along with everyone else's plans. Cyrus was a cute love interest, but I really appreciated that this was not the primary focus of the story, and that Dessa was strong enough to put her own dreams before romance.

One thing I really disliked in this book though was Dessa's family, especially her mom. I thought the whole aspect of voting as a caravan (like really, someone ELSE'S family can determine whether or not you get to go do your internship??) was insane and almost cult-like. I also thought that her mom was incredibly selfish in the way she did things, like asking Dessa to immediately take time off her internship and not caring that it put Dessa's future in jeopardy.

Overall this is a perfect fast and fun summer read to take on a trip or lounge with by the pool! It has a powerful message of going for your dreams, no matter what the people around you say, and staying strong in your convictions.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of this great summer read! Your Destination Is on the Left by Lauren Spieller is out TOMORROW, June 26th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips

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Not only did this book have a gorgeous cover, but this "CinderFella Story" has an outstanding plot as well. Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips follows two gay teens on a journey of love, loss, and beautiful music.

When Nate and Cameron meet at a club, it's practically love at first sight. Cameron's singing voice matches Nate's guitar style perfectly, and the vibe is instant. But then Nate finds out who Cameron actually is: the son of a famous record mogul, the same record mogul who might have been responsible for Nate's father's suicide. Nate runs for the hills and never wants to look back. But Cameron can't stop thinking about him, and wants to do everything he can to convince Nate that he isn't his father. 

When Nate shows up for a mysterious audition for a new up and coming singer (who just so happens to be Cameron), they are once again thrust together. Nate has to decide if he wants to follow his heart and his talent, or keep his distance and possibly miss out on the opportunity, and love, of a lifetime.

This book was so wonderful! From all the musical references to the adorable yet cautiously real love story, it was everything I want in a contemporary. But what I loved the most about this book was that it didn't make a big deal out of the fact that the two main characters were gay. There was no pandering or playing it up, it was just normal, which is how our society should view gay relationships. This was so much more than a love story as well, and dealt with some tough topics and difficult family dynamics, making it all around a fantastic read.

My biggest complaint was that I thought it ended rather abruptly. I wanted to know more about what happened!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thank you so much to Viking for an advanced copy of this adorable read! Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips releases TOMORROW, June 12th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Royals by Rachel Hawkins

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In the aftermath of the Royal Wedding, I was looking to bridge the gap between that and my visit to England in a few weeks. Enter Royals by Rachel Hawkins. I figured this would be the perfect title to feed my royal need, and I was right.

Royals follows Daisy, whose sister Ellie just got engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Suddenly Daisy is thrust into the world of the royals, from going shooting to fancy balls, and she doesn't know what to do. Miles, a friend and steward of the royals, is assigned to help Daisy learn the ropes. There is drama, and plenty of it, as Daisy tries to figure out who she wants to be in this new world, and what rules she must follow versus which ones she is happy to break.

Daisy was feisty and sarcastic and I just loved her! Her jokes and comebacks are something to aspire to. As much as it was easy to dislike Ellie, I fully understood her struggle to fit into her new family and be the perfect princess that everyone expects. I would have liked to have seen more of Alex, but I just adored the "Royal Wreckers!" The romance aspect of this book was cute, although not the main focus which I really appreciated. Just looking at the tagline on the cover, you think this book will primarily be about a love interest, but it was so much more than that. I also loved that there were some LGBT+ aspects in this story as well, and the descriptive scenes of the Scottish countryside were beautiful. 

Ignoring things like the fact that there is no Crown Prince of Scotland/separate Scottish monarchy, this book was adorable. It was fluffy and light, and I think this could be a great book to get someone out of a reading slump! It definitely wasn't life changing, or something I would probably even pick up again, but for what it was I enjoyed the few hours I spent reading it. A solid, decent, 3 star read.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Opposite of Here by Tara Altebrando

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When I saw this book takes place on a cruise ship, I knew it would make for a fantastic summer read. The Opposite of Here by Tara Altebrando follows Natalie, who has embarked on a cruise with some close friends and family for her seventeenth birthday "Sail-A-Bration".

Natalie has been having a hard time, as her boyfriend has recently passed away, and her friends and family hope that this cruise is just the thing she needs to let loose. On the first day of the cruise, Natalie meets a charismatic boy who might be just the person to help her move on. But when he mysteriously disappears and there are rumors of someone going overboard, Natalie becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to him.

This book was quite the ride! There were so many twists along the way, and it was virtually impossible to predict anything. Even when there were reveals, they were so outlandish it was hard to get on board (get it...cruise story-on board??) with them even though they were true. The best word to describe this book would definitely be surprising. It's definitely not a scary thriller, more of a psychological, twisty one.

I loved Natalie as a character, but really disliked her friends. They were rude, judgmental, and really pushy, not seeming to care that Natalie was still deeply impacted by the tragedy she experienced. There are a ton of Hitchcock references, which I quite enjoyed, especially as they paralleled the story itself so well. This story is also interspersed with cruise newsletters and documents to let the reader know what is happening on board each day. While not really necessary, I thought it was a nice touch that made you feel more immersed in the atmosphere of the book. Having been on multiple cruises myself, I can say that the overall cruise setting was very authentically written.

As much as I really enjoyed this read, and do appreciate its entertainment value, I have to take a star off for being extremely unrealistic in the plot department.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Bloomsbury for an advanced copy of this mysterious summer read! The Opposite of Here by Tara Altebrando releases TODAY, June 7th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Relative Strangers by Paula Garner

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I've mentioned before how I love hard-hitting YA contemporaries, and stories that deal with deeper issues than just the standard "teenage drama." Relative Strangers by Paula Garner was definitely one of those. This story follows Jules, an 18 year old girl who discovers she lived in foster care when she was a baby after looking for old photos for the yearbook.

When Jules' alcoholic mother fell off the wagon, Jules went to live with the Margolis family. For almost 2 years, they cared for her and raised her, even hoping to potentially adopt her, until her mother got her back. When Jules discovers this, she seeks out the family, looking to thank them for what they had done for her. First she discovers her foster brother Luke, who is sweet and attractive and clearly missed Jules this whole time. Then she meets the family, who always hoped they would be able to connect with Jules again. But the closer she gets with her old foster family, the more difficult things get between Jules and her mom. And things between Luke and Jules reach a breaking point when confusion about their relationship comes to a head. This story is all about loss, forgiveness, and deciding what really matters.

I loved all the characters in this story, which is good since it's so character driven! Jules was determined and didn't let her life circumstances get her down. And I'm going to for sure try some of her fantastic Ramen recipes! Leila and Gab were great best friends, and I loved Eli and his passions (writing, obituaries, and his rats). While at first I didn't like Jules' mom, I did start to feel for her and understand where she was coming from as the story progressed, ultimately really appreciating her character by the end. I thought the ending was good closure and left everything in a place that felt right. Overall I was very satisfied.

What did bother me was the relationship between Luke and Jules. How she felt about him really rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn't like that all her friends made it seem completely normal that she fell in love with someone who was once her foster brother. I thought this story would have been just as strong without that semi-incestual relationship thrown in. The dynamics between Jules and her mother, foster brother (as just a brother), foster parents, and friends would have been enough to drive the emotion home. This is the only reason I took off a star.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A huge thanks to Candlewick Press for an ARC of this great read! Relative Strangers by Paula Garner releases TOMORROW, April 10, so be sure to pick up a copy!

Now A Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy

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I don't even know where to begin with this book, simply because it was just THAT GOOD. Now A Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy is technically a contemporary, but the plot centers around a fantasy novel becoming a film. Iris Thorne's grandmother is famous for writing a series of high-fantasy novels called Elementia. Now, Elementia is being made into a film, and Iris and her father aren't too pleased. See, Elementia is what tore their family apart, after a crazed fan tried to kidnap Iris's little brother Ryder.

When Iris and her brother end up visiting the film set in Ireland, Iris would love nothing more for the film to fail. She doesn't want her family's life to be in the public eye, and she knows that no matter what happens with this film, blockbuster or bust, that's going to happen. In her eyes, the only way to stop this is for the film to never make it to the cutting room floor. But the longer Iris sticks around, the more she gets to know the cast and crew (and one cute Irish boy in particular), and her opinion of the movie, and Elementia in general, starts to shift.

Throw in a terrible relationship with her father, the feeling of being the sole person responsible for her little brother, and the desire to pursue a passion that terrifies her, and you have an outstanding coming of age story. But it doesn't stop there. The world of Elementia is fantastic, and you get to see a lot of that in this story as well through film dialogue and snippets from the books themselves.

I just can't rave about this book enough. The contemporary aspect was spot on, but it was blended so well with the fantasy world it centered around that it was made even better. I loved every character in this story (except for Iris's father...but you're supposed to dislike him). Iris was headstrong and determined, but she had a fear inside her that a lot of us can relate to. Ryder was such a cute kid, even though he threw tantrums a lot, he had a good heart and was incredibly brave after all he had been through. Eamon was a big bag of sugar concealed in an Irishman's body, and Shoshanna and Julian were great minor characters as well. Cate was the role model that all teenage girls need, pushing and motivating while standing back and letting people figure out things for themselves.

This book also tackled so many issues in a way that was far from preachy. It was definitely big on feminism, since the Elementia books themselves were focused heavily on a powerful female protagonist. It covered sexism, racism, and sexual orientation discrimination in the film industry. It also revealed the dark side of fandoms, and how being obsessed with a fictional world can sometimes cause people to do extreme and scary things.

Personally, I loved that how in the author's note we discover that the Elementia series actually does exist, and that it was Cori McCarthy's own feminist response to Tolkien. Personally I would love to get to read the actual Elementia stories that were the focus of this novel. This was pretty long (around 400 pages), which is unusual for a contemporary, but I flew through it and honestly wish it had been even longer. This is definitely going on my list of favorite books of 2018, and actually, maybe ever.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me a copy of this phenomenal read. Now A Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy releases TOMORROW so be sure to pick it up and see for yourself just how wonderful this story is.

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

I have been so excited for this book release, so I jumped at the chance to be a part of this blog tour! Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett is a cute contemporary that follows Zorie, a teen girl looking to go on a week-long camping trip with her friends to escape some personal drama. Turns out, some of that drama follows her on the trip, and after a mishap at the campsite, the whole week becomes something Zorie never could have planned for. 

Official Synopsis

Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern day, Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.

But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.

What could go wrong?

With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.

And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?

My Review

I absolutely adored this book! While I'd never read anything by Jenn Bennett before, I'd heard so much about her books, and the hype is definitely justified. I loved the main characters in this story, and I really identified with Zorie. Zorie is a planner girl (all the way down to her washi tape!) like me, and just like Zorie I panic when things aren't fully planned out in advance. I thought it was really unique that Zorie had a passion for astronomy, since this is something you don't see too often in YA. I loved Lennon as well. I just wanted to reach into the story and hug him for everything he'd been through. Some of the minor characters really rubbed me the wrong way, but I know they were supposed to. Watching Zorie's family dynamic in this book was a bit hard. From her mail discovery at the beginning, to her dad's firecracker temper, I really felt for Zorie and what she was dealing with.

I flew through this read. While that's usually the case with contemporaries, I didn't even realize how quickly I was moving through this one until I was almost at the end. I thought the writing style and language were definitely appropriate, and did not feel like an adult "trying too hard" to write for teenagers. I loved that the typical YA trope of "absent parent syndrome" wasn't a thing here, and that Zorie's parents were actively engaged (even if sometimes in the wrong way) in what was going on in their daughter's life.

Unfortunately I was just left wanting more, as is true with many contemporaries. The ending seemed a little rushed and was over too soon for my taste.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

About the Author

Jenn Bennett is an award-winning author of young adult books, including: Alex, Approximately; The Anatomical Shape of a Heart (aka Night Owls in the U.K.); and Starry Eyes. She also writes romance and urban fantasy for adults. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, won the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award, and been included on Publishers Weekly Best Books annual list. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two dogs. Visit her at www.jennbennett.net.

Website  //  Facebook  //  Goodreads  //  Twitter  //  Instagram

Be sure to follow the other stops on this blog tour to learn more about Starry Eyes! Thanks so much to Simon Pulse and Fantastic Flying Book Club for early access to a digital copy of this read.

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett releases this week on April 3, so be sure to pick up a copy via any of the links below! Also be sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to win one of three galley copies (US only) of this great book!

    Goodreads  //  Amazon  //  Barnes & Noble  //  Book Depository
Kobo  //  IndieBound  //   iBooks

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One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Thrillers are totally my jam, although I'm really on the fence with YA thrillers since I tend to find them too predictable. But with the hype surrounding One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus (and the fact that I got to meet her at a local event a few weeks ago), I figured I needed to give this one a shot. Plus, Karen described this story as "The Breakfast Club, but with murder" so obviously that got my attention right away.

When five students are sent to detention for something they didn't do, only four walk out of the room alive. Simon is dead, and now Nate, Bronwyn, Cooper, and Addy are the prime suspects. You see, Simon ran the school's gossip app, About That, and there were pending stories about all 4 of them that were about to be posted. Did one (or more) of them decide to kill Simon to keep their secrets from getting out? Building off the criminal, the brain, the athlete, and the beauty from the original Breakfast Club, the story follows these four teens as they deal with questioning and try to figure out who the real killer is.

The story was told from all four points of view. I loved how each character had a very unique voice, and personal struggles they were dealing with in addition to the murder investigation. I really identified with Addy, but I loved Bronwyn and Nate the most (especially together!). I just couldn't identify with Cooper, probably because he was the athlete in the group and I just couldn't relate to all the baseball talk. I loved that there was a gay character in this story as well and I think that aspect was really well done. When I saw Karen speak, she mentioned that she actually let her son name one of the characters, and thus Hank Budapest was born. I just love that, and knowing the story behind it made me laugh every time his character showed up.

Unfortunately, I did figure out the killer pretty early on. Like I said before, I can usually predict thrillers (probably because I've read so many...both adult and YA) but from what I've heard most people were not able to predict this outcome. I also wanted a little more from the ending, but there will be a B&N Special Edition coming out this summer that promises an extra chapter! Overall this was a quick, fun read, and definitely a good first thriller to try if you're new to the genre!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

No cutesy introduction is needed for this post because this book was FIRE (and just hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list). I heard so much buzz before it was released that I knew I had to go out and pick up a copy on release day. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi takes West African mythology and creates a world full of both beauty and danger, in which its main characters have to fight for their rights and take back the magic that was given to them by the gods but destroyed by the king. Three main characters tell this story through their own unique points of view: Zélie, the daughter of a maji killed for her magic, who is now fighting to get it back; Princess Amari, daughter of the king who did that killing, who has a death of her own to avenge; and Prince Inan, Amari's brother who is struggling to reconcile his upbringing with the new information he learns throughout the story. 

From the world building to the character development, this book was phenomenal. For a high fantasy it was incredibly easy to follow and understand. Many scenes (including the boat arena battle) had me on the edge of my seat. For a 500+ page book I flew through this in record time. I absolutely loved the world of Orïsha and its characters. I truly think Inan was my favorite. His character went through the most as far as development goes, and his inner struggle to reconcile the beliefs he was raised with against what he has learned on his own is something I think a lot of people can relate to. I loved Zélie and Amari equally and I think choosing between the two would be like having to choose your favorite child...impossible.

I was fortunate enough to meet Tomi and hear her speak this past weekend, and she talked a lot about how this book was personal for her. She said that while she wrote Children of Blood and Bone as a response and coping mechanism for everything going on regarding police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, the book itself isn't meant to be preachy. Tomi was clear that her first intention is to entertain and tell a good story, but that if people choose to look into it further, they will see parallels to everything happening in society today. She wants people to see through her story that what makes them different also makes them beautiful, and described it as "Black Panther," but with magic. Through this work she wanted to give black girls their own fantasy characters to embrace, and give them something where they could see themselves depicted as beautiful and strong.

I fell into this story and the world of Orïsha head first. I am completely invested in this world and its characters, and I have no desire to climb out of this fantastic story any time soon. I can't wait to see what the next book in the series will bring!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

NoVa TEEN Book Festival 2018 Recap

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to go to the NoVa TEEN Book Festival in Arlington, VA. This was a free event full of panels, breakout sessions, signings, and more. This was my first major event since joining the book community, so I was obviously nervous, but it ended up being a fantastic day!

Dhonielle and Tomi

The first panel, 24K Magic, featured Tomi Adeyemi, Susan Dennard, A.C. Gaughen, and Audrey Coulthurst. While I did DNF Truthwitch, Susan Dennard is an absolute doll! She is so cute and nerdy and precious. Tomi Adeyemi is a goddess. She has the most amazing personality and I loved getting to hear how she (and all these other amazing authors) got the inspiration for the magic systems in their books. Next up came The Power, a panel highlighting both super powers and empowerment, featuring Dhonielle Clayton, Jennifer Mathieu, Shaun David Hutchinson, and Sam Miller. Dhonielle made some really powerful comments about beauty standards, and they all made sure to highlight that with great power comes great responsibility. The third panel of the day was a conversation between Tomi Adeyemi and Dhonielle Clayton. These ladies are so amazing on their own, but hearing them together was inspiring. 

Go the Distance Panel

After a lunch break, the fourth panel centered around family, and included Atia Abawi, Brigid Kemmerer, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Eric Smith. Some of the questions were pretty hard-hitting, and the authors revealed a lot of personal struggles they've had with their own families that led them to develop specific familial relationships for their characters. The fifth panel was all about royals, so this one was right up my alley. Alexandra Christo, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Linsey Miller, and Jodi Meadows all discussed their characters, the political systems in their books, and even had to choose which Disney hero/villain/sidekick their main characters would be! Next came Go The Distance, a panel about obstacles, which featured Rachel Hartman, Arvin Ahmadi, Meagan Spooner, and Scott Reintgen. Whether physical or emotional, all their characters faced some major obstacles, and more than one of these authors admitted to being extra mean to their characters in this aspect a few times throughout their stories.

Thriller Panel

I ended up going to a breakout session instead of the seventh panel, and I picked the Q&A session with Dhonielle Clayton and Eric Smith. I've followed Eric on Twitter for a while now so I wanted to get some more time around him, and obviously Dhonielle has a personality that you just gravitate towards! I returned to the main room for the Thriller panel, featuring Karen McManus, Dana Mele, Megan Miranda, K. Ancrum, and Kimberly Reid. I love thrillers so I really enjoyed hearing these ladies talk about the research that went into their books (including having to be careful what they look up on Google!) and their writing processes to determine whodunit. I was fortunate enough to meet Karen and Megan at a local event earlier in the week, so I enjoyed getting to see them again in conversation with a few other authors. 

Finally was the keynote by Anna-Marie McLemore. This girl is fire! Her speech was about not only the doors that have been slammed in her face due to being queer and Latinx, but also how she overcame them, and how we can all overcome obstacles if we choose to write our own stories rather than letting others write them for us.

Keynote by Anna-Marie McLemore

After all the panels and sessions were over came the signing. You got to enter based on what time you arrived at the event, so if you had been there since the beginning you got to enter the signing room first, and so on. This surprisingly wasn't as chaotic as I was anticipating! Each guest could bring up to 3 books from home, then buy any additional books they wanted signed at the event. I preordered mine, which was an easy process! During the signing I got to meet Tomi Adeyemi, Alexandra Christo, Jennifer Mathieu, Dhonielle Clayton, Meagan Spooner, Anna-Marie McLemore, Dana Mele, and Sarah Nicole Lemon. They were all just the sweetest human beings ever. I also got to spend some time during the day with Sam from Thoughts on Tomes, and she gave me some great advice on being new in the community and connecting with other creators. 

Overall this was a really fun day! I'm going to another big event in about 2 weeks so I'll be sure to do a recap of that as well. Can't wait to go to this again next year!

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton is one of those witchy books that just grabs you and pulls you in, enveloping you with both beautiful writing and magic. This story follows Nor Blackburn, a teenage girl living on Anathema Island. Nor seems like your typical teenager: she has a part time job, she has a quirky best friend, and she has a crush on a boy. But what's not so typical about Nor is that she's a witch. In fact, she's ninth in a generation of famous witches, tracing back to Rona Blackburn, the first female to ever inhabit Anathema. While Rona was an all-powerful witch, each of her descendants has been blessed with only one power, or "burden" as they call them...all that is except for Nor, who has all of them, just like Rona. 

Abandoned at a young age by her mother Fern, Nor has been raised by her grandmother Judd and her partner Apothia. She keeps all but the most basic of her powers (being able to understand animals) quiet, since all she wants is a normal life. She works at The Witching Hour, a store for witches famous for its tours of the island. One day a book turns up while she is working called The Price Guide to the Occult...and it's written by her mother. The book contains a multitude of spells and their prices, and Nor doesn't think anything of it until her mother becomes internationally famous for her mail-order magic. But all magic comes at a price, often much steeper than money, and soon they will all find out what that price is.

I absolutely loved this book. Walton's writing was gorgeous and poetic. Nor was a fantastic character, and you were really able to get inside her head and feel her internal struggles. I also loved all the minor characters, including Savvy, Judd and Apothia, and even the little dog Bijou. The magical realism was authentic, plausible, and very well done. My only real complaint with this book was that I wanted more. I wanted more at the climax of the story, and more follow-up at the end. You know that feeling when you finish something amazing but are suddenly let down because it's over? That was me with this book. I became immersed in Anathema and its inhabitants, and really invested in Nor and what happened to her, her family, and her friends. Plus this cover is utterly stunning, and super relevant to the plot as well!

I've heard that Walton's first work, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, is amazing as well, so now I'm going to have to pick that one up!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Candlewick Press for an ARC of this fantastic read. The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton  releases March 13th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

Cover Art Courtesy of
Random House Children's Books

The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk is a book about loss. Most of us have experienced at least one great loss in our lives (and if you haven't, you're so very lucky). Experiencing a great loss tears you up inside and makes you question everything, and often when this type of loss strikes you're forced to rebuild your life from the ground up.

In this story, Autumn, Logan, and Shay have all recently lost someone: a best friend, an ex-boyfriend, a twin sister. From a car wreck, to suicide, to cancer, these deaths were mostly unexpected, and tear each of the characters apart. Autumn turns to her dead best friend's brother for comfort (and a little more), Logan picks up the bottle and develops a destructive relationship with drinking, and Shay runs, literally, away from every situation that reminds her of her sister. But all three characters also find comfort in music. Through their love of music, they all know one another as acquaintances, but really come together at the end of the story to honor the loved ones they lost through the music that held them together.

But in addition to loss, this book is more about finding yourself after that loss, holding onto what you have, and embracing your own life while learning to live without the person that is no longer with you. Woodfolk's main characters do exactly that: find themselves and hold on to each other in their times of loss, truly living with an unwavering determination in memory of those now gone. Each of the characters was well developed, and it was easy to get inside their heads and understand their feelings. The diverse representation here was important, but the characters were so much more than that. The plot was simple but effective.

My biggest complaint with this book is the same one I usually have with YA contemporaries...the youth/parent interactions just didn't seem realistic. Maybe it's me, but I just don't believe (and have never experienced myself or even witnessed) the high level of obliviousness and leniency that I see with some of these parents. That being said, this book was beautiful. It tugged at your heart strings and you were really able to relate to the characters, no matter who you've lost in your life.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Random House Children's Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book! The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk releases TODAY so be sure to pick up a copy!

People Like Us by Dana Mele

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

If a book (or show or movie, for that matter) has a boarding school, snobby teenage girls, and an unexplained death, you can count me in. That's why I was so excited to receive a copy of People Like Us by Dana Mele. 

This story follows Kay, a popular girl at Bates, a boarding school for the rich and preppy. She has her typical clique of friends, and as predicted they tend to bully others at their school just for the fun of it. One night a fellow student Jessica turns up dead, an apparent suicide, but as both Kay and detectives start looking into the death, it turns out it may not have been suicide after all...and Kay is one of the prime suspects. After she gets a threatening email from the deceased Jessica, Kay has to solve a series of riddles, taking out each of her friends in the process to save her own dark secrets from being spilled. She finds an unlikely ally in Nola, an unpopular goth girl with superior hacking skills, who Kay and her friends made miserable in the past. The two of them work together to solve Jessica's riddles, bringing down each girl in Kay's circle and piecing together clues to try to find the killer. 

This was a solid read, it just wasn't fantastic. It was an overall quick read with a gorgeous cover, and I would definitely recommend it for fans of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars for the big brother/communication from the grave vibes. Unfortunately I thought the killer was predictable from about the halfway mark, and the reveal wasn't even that good. Some parts did drag and were somewhat boring, and you didn't see very much character development. Of all the characters, I loved Spencer the most, and I would have liked to see more of him. I did appreciate the diversity and LGBTQ+ representation in this book, and it's important that we're starting to see more of that in YA novels.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

A huge thanks to Penguin Teen for sending me a finished copy of this book! People Like Us by Dana Mele just released on February 27, so you can pick up your copy now!

No Filter by Orlagh Collins

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Sometimes it just takes A LONG TIME to get into a book. That's why I always try to make it at least 50-75% through before giving up, rather than risking really missing out on something good. No Filter by Orlagh Collins is the prime example for sticking it out and really finding a gem (and one of the characters is named Emerald...so literally, a gem!).

No Filter follows two teenagers, Liam and Emerald. After finding her mother after an attempted suicide, Emerald is shuttled off to Ireland for the summer while her parents in England try to handle everything going on. She is devastated that she won't be spending the summer with her Instagram-perfect friends, but rather in Ireland with her grandmother. But then she meets Liam, a boy with big dreams but a family wrong to right, even if it will cost him the future he wants. As Emerald's home life becomes even more strained and Liam can't seem to find a way to make his dreams a reality, they cling to one another, until they discover the truth about the tumultuous connected past of their families. It's then that they have to determine what really matters, old feuds or new romances?

This book really bugged me at first and I almost DNF'ed it. Between the difficult to understand accents and purely disgusting point of view towards social media, it took a lot to make me power through this book, but I'm glad I did. While the first half was a challenge, the second half was fantastic. I actually got used to the accents, and ended up being really happy that they were written authentically as it really gave more insight into who Liam and Emerald are. As characters they unfolded before themselves and each other, pushing buttons they didn't know they had and teaching one another the true value of things they might have missed before. I thought the irony of a character named Emerald spending the summer in Ireland was super cute, and the island scenes with the wallabies were a nice addition of a little real life magic in an otherwise bland environment.

I am still displeased with the way that Collins wrote Emerald's relationship with social media. Being invested in social media isn't a bad thing, and it's how many of us make a living today, but it was written distastefully, as if the author thinks that any form of new technology is a thorn in the side of civilization. Overall No Filter is a cute contemporary read that emphasizes forgiveness, second chances, and the importance of the truth-even when at first you or others around you are blind to it.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A huge thanks to Bloomsbury for an early digital copy of this book. No Filter by Orlagh Collins releases in hardcover on March 6, so be sure to pick up a copy!