Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Twisty mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Groups for the opportunity to read and review Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes!
The ending of Little White Lies isn’t the full story of who Sawyer’s father is. The story continues and causes more stress. In the meantime, the group of friends and their families have traveled to Regal Lake for the summer and Sawyer, Campbell, Lily and Sadie Grace have been secretly invited to the White Glove Society. The book alternates between Sawyer’s experiences and to the past, twenty-five years earlier to what Lily’s mom and Campbell’s mom we’re up to at that time. During the White Glove party at the lake, Sawyer and her friends see a skull that’s been washed ashore and an investigation ensues. I could have used a family tree, a timeline and even a pregnancy pact history to help with all the twists and turns in this story! The danger amps up in this sequel to Little White Lies with the mysteries of who’s related to who and the skull discovered at the lake. The character development includes maturity and clarifying priorities. A mystery that was hard to put down, 5 stars!

Black Canary Ignite by Meg Cabot and Illustrated by Cara McGee

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Action, adventure and awesome illustrations!
Thanks to DC Comics and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Black Canary Ignite by Meg Cabot, illustrated by Cara McGee. This seven chapter graphic novel tells the story of Detective Lance’s daughter, Dinah. Dinah’s mother is the Black Canary and she helped fight crime before Dinah was born. Dinah has inherited her mother’s Canary Cry, a supersonic voice. Dinah tries to control her power but it’s not easy. Fun origin story full of action, adventure and colorful illustrations, 5 stars!

The Suffering by Rin Chupeco

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The Suffering by Rin Chupeco is the sequel to Girl From the Well. Tark and Okiku work together as a vigilante team ridding the world of murderers. They have to enter the Japanese forest that’s known for people committing suicide within its borders. Kagura is missing, so Callie, Tark and Okiku venture into the forest to find her and the American ghost hunting TV crew she went with. They were searching for a village that supposedly exists but no one has discovered it. The search party discovers horrific rituals and sacrifices that the village leader tricked the citizens into believing were helpful to the village, but the leader was sacrificing young women for personal power and to open Hell’s gates. Callie and Tark get split up and Tark encounters terrible, vengeful, angry spirits, members of the missing TV crew and eventually he finds Kagura. Together, Okiku, Tark and Kagura fight the spirit of the evil leader and try to appease the tortured spirits. Danger, suspense and creepiness made me want to read nonstop, 5 stars for this haunted sequel!

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

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Fairytale Twist!
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd!
Bringing a twist to the regular fairy tales, Grim Lovelies tells the story of the often forgotten side characters. Anouk is a servant of Mada Vittora’s household. Anouk is also an animal transformed into a human by the witch she serves. Mada Vittora keeps the pelts of all the animals she’s turned into humans, all to serve her. Anouk, Luc, Beau and Cricket are all trapped this way. Beau discovers the Mada’s body after she’s been killed, so he and Anouk flee to Cricket’s apartment and then the three of them are on the run. The three of them haven’t heard from Luc for quite some time. They run to another witch that’s the enemy of their Mada, hoping for help in staying human. Mada Zola helps them plot to steal a spell from the Royals and things just get more complicated from there. Loyalties are tested and stretched and a new beginning ends the book, 4 stars!

Vortex Visions by Elise Kova

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Epic fantasy for young adults!
I read Vortex Visions by Elise Kova because of being a goodreads giveaway winner! I’m happy that I won because I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
The first book in the Vortex Chronicles tells the story of Vi, a young woman and princess that’s been kept away from her family since she was a child. Supposedly, this was for her protection and to keep the royal family safe and intact. Vi lives with Uncle Jax, who’s her trainer and guardian. Vi has tutors for lessons to gain knowledge and training sessions to find and control her powers. Vi’s waiting for her mother, father and brother to visit her soon, when they will take her home. She receives letters and writes correspondence to them often but new contact is stopped due to possible dangers. Vi accidentally discovers her true powers and the fact that she has visions. Her mysterious powers, that continue to grow and change to adapt to what she needs, plague her every thought. In her visions, she meets and befriends Taavin. The two work together for answers they both need. Vi’s life is threatened more than once and danger increases around her and those she cares about. The end of the book carries Vi into another adventure as she plans on working more closely with Taavin to save both of their lives as the story continues in Chosen Champions, the sequel. Epic fantasy, adventure and mystery sum up Vortex Visions, 5 stars!

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

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Friendship, love and perseverance!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz!
Two teen main characters meet at the hospital while they’re getting treatments and they become immediate friends. Isabel has rheumatoid arthritis and Sasha has Gaucher Disease. Both illnesses have horrible consequences and daily struggles. Isabel and Sasha have such different personalities that they sometimes they struggle to get along, but mostly they are perfect for each other. I giggled many times while reading this book because of the humor, which is balanced out well with the tough reality of what Sasha and Isabel have to deal with on a daily basis because of their “invisible” sicknesses, their school lives and family dynamics. I’m impressed with this book, its maturity and realistic portrayal of what life deals out, 5 stars!

Veiled By Desire by Candace Robinson

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Strong characters!
Veiled By Desire by Candace Robinson, is the sequel to Clouded By Envy. This sequel happens much later in time than the first book of the Laith series. My heart went out to Tavarra because she believed in love, felt cheated and then her entire life was shattered by a horrible transformation.
Rhona is mistreated and my heart goes out to her and her friend Perin, also. I love when loyalty is strong between friends and when the bond cannot be broken. Tavarra meets Rhona and they work together to improve the lots they’ve been given. I enjoyed this sequel much more than the first and I think it’s because the characters were more relatable and the struggles seemed more harrowing, somehow. 4 stars!

Clouded by Envy by Candace Robinson

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Tragic story of how envy can take its toll.

I received a digital copy of Clouded by Envy by Candace Robinson, as an author request to voluntary read and review.
Clouded By Envy tells the story of Bat-like siblings, from the planet of Laith, adopted by a different animal after their mother abandoned them, are sent away to grow up and be independent. Bray has the power to change into human, size and all. Her brother Brenik is jealous of that and thinks he’s useless. His envy grows to the point of extreme anger and he decides he’s going to do whatever it takes to become human. He is turned into a human-looking creature, a vampire. Everything becomes too much for him to handle and he runs to Bray for help. Things become even more complicated and tragic and Branik does the only thing he believes will stop the chain of horrible events. 3 stars for this unique story of envy.