I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday, May 21st, which was this year’s National Readathon Day. Besides taking care of my home and family, I dove into the following books:
The Problem with Forever by Jennifer Armentrout 
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Saving April by Sarah A. Denzil 
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and two books by Katie Finn – Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold 
and Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross 
. Reviews to follow!
The Dead of Winter, by Kresley Cole, left me hanging and in anxious anticipation of the fourth book in The Arcana Chronicles! The book begins with Evie leaving Death (Aric) to save Jack from the torturous twins. She makes more allies and, eventually, Death visits their camp. Together they are able to rescue Jack after some intense action and cooperation. The twins have taken Selena, the Archer, and Evie, Jack and Death work together to try to save her from the sadistic and twisted twins. Evie finally makes a choice between Death and Jack before an attack occurs and the book ends with no publication date specified for the fourth book-AAAHHH!
I absolutely love the variety of languages, the humor, the dynamics of the characters and the amount of complexity of each character – a perfect amount – and the fact that no character in this series is static!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ebook of Going Down in Flames by Chris Cannon! Going Down in Flames is the first book in a trilogy about dragons. Bryn discovers that she is a dragon on her sixteenth birthday and, if that’s not enough, she is told by her parents that she will be shunned by other dragons because they cross-bred. Bryn’s father is a Red Dragon and her mother is a Blue Dragon. This makes Bryn a mix. Cross marriages are forbidden, so when her parents fell in love with each other, they ran away from dragon society because they felt as though they had no other choice. Bryn is forced by the Directorate (the governing organization of Dragon society) to attend dragon school and is placed in the Green Dragon dorms in exchange for letting them “study’ her scientifically. Bryn’s life is threatened more than once, conspiracies fly and new acquaintances are made and friendships are built. Going Down in Flames is a fun beginning to a series with a lot of potential!
Only a few more days left until National Readathon 2016! I have been working on a Book Drive for Utah Congressman Chris Stewart and the books are piling up. Congressman Stewart began this book drive to help parenting teen girls and their children at Kairos Academy, a West Valley High School in Utah.
I am loving the Arcana Chronicles series! The second book, Endless Knight, begins right where Poison Princess left off – when Evie transformed into the Empress to save her life through self-defense and Jackson saw her with all of her powers. Jackson states that he doesn’t want to be with the Arcana; he says they aren’t right. Evie, Selena, Finn and Matthew continue to meet more Arcana and make truces with some. Jack and Evie work through their differences and overcome their problems. Death kidnaps Evie and stunts her powers. The more she gets to know death, the more she understands him and cares for him. Then Matthew tells Evie that Jack has been captured by twin Arcana who enjoy torturing their victims, so now Evie must choose between Jack or Death. Wow! I love this book and I am excited to continue reading with the third book, Dead of Winter. Great characters, interesting surroundings, lots of action and adventure, dynamic relationships and romance make this a fun series to read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc of The Last Boy and Girl in the World. This story revolves around the analysis of Keeley and her relationship with those around her just as much as it deals with the man-made and natural disasters of her town. This intriguing balance kept my interest because the characters were dealing with more than just their own relationships. They were all trying to decide whether to evacuate or stay in the small town that was becoming more flooded by the day. Keeley learns a lot about herself along the way and she loses friends and gains others. She also matures, even though it is a huge struggle for her. The community emergency brings out the best and worst in the town’s residents and also brings to light people’s true characters. A realistic fiction book that will make readers smile and cringe and will ultimately pull on their heartstrings.
The Crown by Kiera Cass is actually better than I expected it to be. The end to the popular Selection series, The Crown contains resolution and hope for a better future for the kingdom. Eadlyn learns who she can and cannot trust and discovers some family secrets along the way. Some predictability, but a fun book nevertheless.
Thanks to NetGalley and Fog Ink Publishing for the arc of The War of Words by Amy Neftzger! This fantasy read contains a book that no one can read, words being transformed, people being confused, an interesting headmaster, an eccentric teacher and a talking gargoyle. The story begins with Kelsey fighting faceless shadows for the King. A fellow soldier, Eric, admires Kelsey and asks her questions to the point of annoying her. A book is mentioned that can win the war, according to legend. The only solid answer Kelsey can get about this book is from the “Sisters” who are all-wise. Kelsey also witnesses a cloaked man burning what she thinks looks like words. Other characters are introduced; Nicholas (a student), Newton (the talking gargoyle), Taro the headmaster and several others all come together to make this a fun, entertaining read. The War of Words is quickly paced and a fast read for fantasy lovers.
Poison Princess by Kresley Cole is the start of an amazing series. This book contains many genres, such as dystopian, supernatural, romance, adventure, mythology and fantasy. Poison Princess immediately intrigued me with the feeling of doom in the first chapter. I was pulled into the story because it is interesting in so many ways; the Louisiana culture and language and the fantastical and mythological pull around Evie. I love the Cajun vocabulary lessons and culture and I think I felt at home with it because I lived in Louisiana during an impressionable age while growing up. I lived in several areas of Louisiana between the ages of nine and twelve. The Cajun references made me smile and sometimes cringe because they were spot on.
The author changes the point of view from Evie to the kidnapper for the prologue and one other chapter. This strategic writing gives readers insight into the enemy’s world. Clever, Kresley Cole! There is a bit of swearing and sexual innuendo that I will warn students about, but I absolutely love this book with its dynamic characters and I plan on reading it again and finishing the Arcana Chronicles series as soon as possible.
The Thought Spot 