The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Historical New Orleans setting!
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh opens as a ship with young women pulls into New Orleans harbor. these women want to start new lives. Celine and Pippa are heading to a convent when they spot an interesting young man, who seems to stop traffic wherever he goes. Some of these young women, Celine, Pippa and Anabel, will work at a convent until they get married. They raise funds for the convent and teach the students. While they’re selling the items they’ve made, they’re approached by Odette, who seems rich and states that she’s willing to pay anything for a good seamstress. Celine sews well and she’s thrilled about the job offer. The only thing holding her back is the curfew she’s supposed to keep. Once she goes with Odette and meets her associates, she’s drawn into another world. Celine meets creatures that she didn’t know existed and her life completely changes. A mysterious fantasy set in New Orleans! 5 stars!

Find Me Their Bones by Sara Wolf

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Love, loyalty and sacrifice!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Find Me Their Bones by Sara Wolf!
The second book in this trilogy feels much calmer than the first. I want to know more about Varia and how she came into her position and knowledge at this point in her life. More opens up about Lucien and l’m hoping the third book will address my questions and other readers’ questions. Yori and Malachite are both interesting and entertaining and Zera still has the sense of humor that I enjoy. The suspense and danger didn’t seem as intense but the witch fire scene built up the action and we get to see vulnerability in some of the characters. I’m looking forward to the next book and I hope it brings the story and these characters full circle. 4 stars!

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte!

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Fantastic debt novel by Astrid Scholte!
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte!
Quadara is a nation divided into quadrants. Each quadrant plays a part in the nation’s economy. Archia provides crops and natural resources;Eonia develops medicine and technology; Ludia provides art, fashion and entertainment; Toria arranges imports and exports. The story is told in alternating points of view between the queens and Keralie, Kera for short. When Iris, an 18-year-old Queen is murdered in the Palace Garden, the mystery begins. Kera is a thief working for Mackiel. He’s sent her to steal a comm case containing memory chips. The messenger she steals from is smart and ends up tracking her down at the auction house. Mackiel becomes cruel and Kera escapes with the messenger, Varin, after dissolving the chips in her mouth, watching and absorbing the memories. She sees a palace full of blood and murdered queens. Varin and Kera go to the palace to help find the assassin and share the chips as evidence. They realize that they’re ahead of the assassin when they reach the palace and they try to warn the queens of the danger they’re in. The mystery builds as the queens are murdered, one at a time. The twists are enjoyable and I love Kera and Varin. Unique world building and storyline filled with dynamic characters, 4 stars!

The Bookworm Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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A lighthearted story that takes on a few serious issues!
Bookworm Crush, by Lisa Brown Roberts and Entangled Teen, opens as Amy is sneaking around town at night. She sneaks out to decorate for a social media challenge so she can win a meeting with her favorite author. The winner also receives a scholarship. Toff happens to drive by as Amy is running scared because she heard a noise and falls. He stops to help Amy, not knowing that he’s Amy’s crush. Since it’s past curfew, a police officer pulls them over to question the reason they aren’t home. They feign a relationship, pretending that they lost track of time. Amy’s terrified of getting in trouble but Toff plays it cool and the police officer lets them go. Toff takes Amy home and her brother notices the two of them as she’s sneaking into the house. Her brother Brayden assumes they’re dating. This is the beginning of Toff having his eyes opened to Amy. He coaches her for the author competition and helps Amy build her “swagger”. His confidence rubs off on her and together they create fun, interesting social media posts. Meanwhile, Toff’s father is remarrying and Amy’s father is looking for a job. This lighthearted story takes on a few serious issues and character growth, 4 stars!

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Japanese cultures and legends with a spooky aspect kept me glued to the pages of The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco!
I bought this book years ago because the synopsis intrigued me, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading it until it was set as the October read for the Dragons & Tea Book Club. The first five chapters introduce us to a ghost that sees murderers and scares them to death. This ghost’s life was ended in murder and she seeks justice and rids the world of killers. She notices a teen boy with strange tattoos that he tries to keep hidden as he moves into a house in Applegate, with his father. The boy, Tarquin (Tark for short) lives alone with his father since his mother seemingly tried to kill him when he was younger. The two visit her in the psychiatric hospital and she is terrified when she sees Tark and she’s threatening harm to whoever she thinks is going to hurt him, and only she can see this being. Tark thinks he freaks her out but his mother sees a dark shadow in him. The ghost sees the shadow too. The suspense heightens immensely in the next few chapters and leaves me rooting for the ghostly woman and her strong intentions. Chapters 6- 10: The action picks up alongside the suspense and I didn’t want to stop reading! 11-14: detailed descriptions of Japanese ghost legends surrounding Okiku in the well explain the ghost’s story and the humor picks up as Tark and Callie exchange emails. 15: A group of high school boys committed horrible and mutilating acts on a young woman and this setting opens a chapter with a new murder and retribution. 16-20: Tark, his father and cousin Callie travel to the shrine where Tark’s mother grew up. They learn about her life and all the things they never knew about her from the people she was raised by and grew up with. They witness a possession and exorcism of a little boy and see the shrine’s powers at work. 20-ending: sacrifices are made, tragedy strikes and parts of the shrine are damaged and destroyed.
I love this book and read through it quickly because it was interesting, suspenseful and I grew to love the characters and wanted to know how everything turned out for them. I enjoyed learning more about Japanese culture and legends, 5 stars!