The Headmaster’s List by Melissa de la Cruz

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Fast-paced mystery with a slow burn romance!

Spencer wakes up in the hospital after being injured in a car crash that involved her and three other students from Armstrong but she only remembers a few details. One of the students, Chris, died in the crash and another passenger, Tabby, won’t talk to Spencer but only glares at her. Ethan was driving and speeding and says he tried to brake but the car wouldn’t stop and they hit a tree. Ethan is on house arrest, Tabby seems fine but angry, Chris died and Spencer has broken some bones and has stitches from her jaw to her cheekbone. Jackson, Ethan’s best friend, helps Spencer get around and with her schoolwork, as well as helping her piece the details from the night of the accident together because she’s extremely frustrated that she can’t remember. The more she digs into the details, the more in danger she becomes.
Fast-paced mystery with a slow burn romance, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I like the intense, poetic opening that reveals the story. I like Spencer’s strength and integrity and Jackson’s personality. I enjoyed figuring out the mystery and how a mental health therapy dog helped a trauma victim.
Matue content: PG-13 for prescription drug addiction, drinking, vaping
Language: PG-13 for 24 swears and 5 f-bombs
Violence: PG for brakes being cut to cause an accident, hit and run, being held at gunpoint and being hit in the head with a gun.

Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian

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The intrigue twists,turns and never stops!

Daphne and Beatriz both receive confirmation of Sophronia’s death. Violie, Sophronia’s maid and unbeknownst spy of Empress Margareaux, helps Leopold escape to safety as she promised Sophronia she would. They meet up with Ambrose and Lord Savelle, who Beatriz freed from prison and Ambrose took on his boat to safety. At the wedding ceremony for Daphne and Bairre, an explosion occurs that kills the Empyria helping the king and now Bairre’s mother becomes the new Empyria. Beatriz and Pasquale end up in Empress Margareaux’s palace while Violie and Leopold are spying on Daphne in Bairre’s kingdom. The four work together to stop the Empress from taking over the continent and killing them all. Beatriz is convinced that their mother, Empress Margareaux, planned to kill all three of her daughters the minute she secured the kingdoms they infiltrated and now she’s trying to convince Daphne of their mother’s betrayal. The intrigue twists, turns and never stops, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the intensity which is stronger than in the first book of this series. The intrigue never ends and it twists and turns as characters change their planned actions. The character variety is entertaining.
Ethnicity: predominantly white
Language: PG-13 for 10 swears, no f-bombs
Mature content: PG for kissing, lgbtq side character
Vilence: PG-13 for bloody stabbings, imprisonment, death by an arrow to the neck, poisoning

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

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Strange, eerie and twisted!

Told in two separate timelines that are ten years apart. Daisy moves to a mansion property that her mother inherits from her deceased brother-in-law. Ten years later, Brittney cohosts a show with Jayden and they’re focusing on this same mansion property and the story of Daisy. Brittney’s mom gives credit to the mansion for helping her turn her life around and others attribute positive changes to it, dubbing it the Miracle Mansion. This mansion is also known because of its dark history shrouded in secrecy and quiet scandals. Daisy and Brittney have a lot in common in dealing with their seemingly selfish mothers. Jayden and Brittney get more than a documentary when they visit the mansion and conduct their interviews. Strange, eerie and twisted, 4 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I appreciate the content warning at the beginning of the book. Too many swear words even though some helped convey the message of abuse. The mystery kept spiraling and kept me interested. King is my favorite character because of his calmness and integrity.
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking, implied sex, off page sex, being choked while having sex, mention of vaping, gay side character, implied sexual abuse of minors.
Language: R for 168 swears and 106 f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for goat being killed by getting throat slashed, mentioning of deaths in mansion.

The Secrets We Keep by Cassie Gustafson

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Emma lives in Prosper, Oregon with her mother, father and six year old brother Kyle. They moved from San Francisco because her father was in trouble for inappropriate behavior with a minor, Alice, a friend of Emma’s. Now it seems that he’s in trouble again with another friend of Emma’s, Hannah. Hannah’s mom found her journal where she’d written about Emma’s father touching her, so the police were called and he was arrested. Emma’s parents have coerced her into standing by her father’s side even if it means lying about the things he’s done to her for years. She’s struggling with loyalty, being treated like a burden and wanting to stand up for her friend and herself.

This is a story about surviving and the strength that takes! 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I appreciate the content warning at the beginning of the book to let readers be aware before reading. I enjoyed the gradual unraveling of the mystery surrounding the main character. I like how the author represented survivors and the resources list at the end of the book.

Mature Content: PG-13 for xexual abuse stated but not detailed; verbal abuse, gaslighting of children, physical and emotional neglect; mention of a nonbinary side character with positive interaction and respect.

Violence: PG for temper tantrums and angry outbursts from adults.

Language: R for 37 swears, no f-bombs.

Ethnicity: mixed

Castles in Their Bones

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Interesting premise of deception!

In the imaginary continent of Vesteria, three princesses celebrate their sixteenth birthday together and mourn their time together. They will be sent off to other kingdoms to marry princes. Each princess will go to a different kingdom and marry the ruler; Sophronia is marrying King Leopold, who treats her kindly along with his family and court; Beatriz is marrying Prince Pasquale and seems unwanted by him but she’s meant to sway Lord Savelle, as her mother instructed; Daphne is marrying Cillian, who dies before she arrives, so the second heir, Bairre, takes his place in marriage. Each princess struggles with who to trust and in completing their set missions for their mother and her ultimate goals. They’re in more danger than they realize and start to see that they can’t rely on their mother for help or love.

Likes/dislikes: I had a difficult time keeping the three princesses and their corresponding kingdoms straight. I like the premise of villainous deception and seeing the changes that took place within the princesses. I enjoyed the side characters of each prince and the diversity amongst the kingdoms.

Mature Content: PG-13 for kissing and drinking wine.
Language: PG-13 for 19 swears and no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for a beheading.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.

The Charmed List by Julie Abe

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Cute charm and a fun read!

The Charmed List is a quirky, genre-bending book. It’s romance mixed with magic. Ellie lives in a city full of magic gatherers and spell makers. Most of them want to help others by making their lives a little happier, better. Jack’s father seems to just want to make money using the magic. Ellie and Jack used to be best friends until his mother died and he distanced himself from her and chose other friends that make fun of her. Ellie and her now best friend Lia plan a prank on Jack and he uses magic to get rid of it. He doesn’t realize that anyone is watching him. Lia doesn’t know magic exists and the magical community has strict rules about sharing magic, information or anything, with those who don’t know it’s real. When she sees Jack use a spell, she’s overwhelmed and everyone in Jack’s and Ellie’s families find out what they did. Jack and Ellie get in trouble and are sent on a work trip for their parents’ shops. They’re told they have to work out their differences and being wisely magic-aware. The first part of the trip, Ellie is frosty towards Jack. They won’t open up to each other but their siblings planted charms in the lunch they packed, so Jake and Ellie have to compromise if they’re going to eat. They start to relax around each other and actually enjoy their time together. When both families arrive at the convention, Jack’s father blows up and says cruel things about Ellie and her family. A roller coaster ride of emotions, crossing items off a bucket list and cute charm make this a fun read, 5 stars!

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

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Exciting new book from Marie Lu!

Present time in America, Winter is a famous performer who is being recruited by the Panacea Agency to help take down a dangerous criminal, Eli Morrison. Eli has invited Winter to perform at his daughter Penelope’s birthday celebration in London. This is why Panacea wants Winter’s help, because he can infiltrate Eli’s life with little suspicion.
Sydney Cosette works for Panacea and poses as Winter’s bodyguard. The two seem to come from very different backgrounds but they discover they have commonalities. Winter and Sydney get hit with a few surprises on their mission and they’ll have to rely on their wits and trust each other to make it through alive.

Likes/dislikes: Winter and Sydney are interesting characters with unspoken depth. I like the mystery, action and setting of the story. I love the ending.

Mature Content: PG-13 for bisexual relationships mentioned, off-page kissing; sex alluded to by stating, “ended up in bed together”; drinking, transporting drugs, kissing.

Language: R for 49 swears and no f-bombs.

Violence: PG for kidnapping, killing mentioned, death by choking on a chemical weapon, hand to hand combat, shot in the chest. Sydney’s mother Killed by father in domestic abuse rage.

Ethnicity: The ethnicity of the main character is Chinese American, other characters are Black, white, brown-skinned, mixed.

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

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Great ending!

A woman lost her son a year ago. He was taken from their home sometime in the night. Her husband left her and is with a new woman who looks like her and also looks like his previous wife, who is now deceased. Two-thirds into the book, it’s revealed that the police and mostly everyone else suspects that the kidnapper was someone inside the home. The uncertainty of whether or not the main character can be trusted or if she’s unreliable makes it more interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, 4 stars!

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

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Uncontrollable magic!

Clara is an Everwitch and belongs to a band of witches in Pennsylvania who keep nature from being destroyed by wildfires and erratic weather. Mr. Hart is her teacher and wants to help her master her abilities and conquer her fear of harming another after she hurt and killed her best friend Nikki and her parents. Clara changes her personality with the seasons and in summer she enjoys being in relationships but in autumn she loses all feelings for the other person. After Mr. Hart is killed by her magic, Clara wants to give up and resign herself to a life of solitude so she can’t harm anyone else. When Sang arrives to help train her, she starts to believe in herself and hopes she will be able to finally control her magic.

Likes/dislikes:
I love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, sometimes they’re inspiring and sometimes they’re eye-opening. I like the internal struggles of the main character. I also like how the community eventually works together.
Mature content:
PG-13 for kissing and allusion to sex with no details. Bisexual main character.
Violence: PG for death from uncontrollable magic in a flash of light.
Language: R for 19 swears and one f-bomb.
Ethnicity: White, Asian.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

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Full of schemes and intrigue!

Alessandra is allowed to attend social parties now that her older sister is betrothed. She’s cunning and deceptive and, unbeknownst to her father, has already dated several young men. They keep their flings with her secret because she blackmails them. If people knew she wasn’t purely innocent, she would be shunned from high society and no Royal member would want to marry her. She tells her father the truth after he lets her know it’s time for her to find someone to marry. He wants her to marry someone rich because he’s becoming poor and in danger of losing his lands. Alessandra and her father attend the Royal Ball. The Shadow King seems interested in Alessandra and makes a deal with her to be friends so he can look like he’s wed and so can she, then they’ll both be happy. Alessandra is thrilled with this proposition and she works on her plan to poison him once they’re wed. Instead of continuing with her plan, Alessandra starts to truly care for Kallias, the Shadow King. He develops feelings for her too, which surprises them both. Attempts have been taken to kill the king and he ends up unsure who he can trust and when poison is found in Alessandra’s room, everything falls apart. The selfish intentions of the main characters make this a unique story that’s refreshing because it’s out of the norm, 4 stars!