The Twin by Natasha Preston

Posted on by lynndellwatson

An evenly paced YA thriller!

Iris and Ivy are twins with divorced parents. Iris has lived with the mom and Ivy with the Dad for quite a few years. Since their mom died in an accident, Iris now lives with Ivy and their dad. The twins haven’t been close since they were separated and it’s awkward now that they’ve been forced together again. Iris refuses to talk about their mom or go clean up her belongings and clear out the home. Ivy invites Iris to hang out with her but Iris seems to always have plans already set up and usually with Ivy’s friends but excluding Ivy. Iris keeps pushing herself into Ivy’s life, every aspect of it, to the point where she’s driving Ivy mad. Ivy meets with a past friend of Iris’s and discovers that there’s something sinister about Iris and danger is surrounding Ivy. An evenly paced young adult thriller!

The Queen’s Secret by Melissa de la Cruz

Posted on by lynndellwatson

The kingdom’s balance is shaken in this duology finale!

The kingdom’s balance is shaken in this duology finale!
In the imaginary world of Avantine, Lilac is now married to King Hansen. The kingdom’s citizens blame her for the odd and scary events that take place. They believe she’s a witch with dark magic. Strange deaths shake the balance in the kingdom and when her mother’s palace is destroyed, no one and nowhere feels safe. Cal and his cohorts have to work quickly to solve the problem and help rebuild their kingdom’s safety.

Likes/dislikes: The repeated mentions of past events became tedious. The relationships fell into place too conveniently and quickly towards the ending of the book. I would have liked to have more background on Jander and the demon wreaking havoc in the kingdom because that would have made the world building stronger and the story more interesting. The unwanted marriage between Lilac and the king overshadowed everything.

Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, gentle kissing, urgent nondescript kiss.
Language: PG for 4 swears and no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths by stabbing and falling; messy, bloody death of a horse.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed.