A Bend in the Willow by Susan Clayton-Goldner

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to the author’s request for me to read and review A Bend in the Willow by Susan Clayton-Goldner! Maya Angelou opens the story with her quote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Robin Lee changed her name to Catherine years ago to escape her painful past, but her husband knows nothing about her past experiences. She fabricated a life story. Their son Michael is in an accident on his fifth birthday and while assessing his health, the doctor finds leukemia. The only hope he has for recovery is a bone marrow transplant from a matching relative. Catherine goes to her hometown and faces her past head on. She meets her brother Kyle and he doesn’t believe that she’s Robin Lee. She approached him too abruptly about her son instead of first trying to ease the pain from their past. The past keeps blowing up in her face and she struggles, and so do her family members, with trying to take care of Michael. The innocence of children brought tears to my eyes and this story is tragic and beautiful at the same time – 5 stars – for this adult realistic fiction novel with kudos to perseverance and unconditional love and compassion!

Pushing the Boundaries by Stacey Trombley

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Pushing the Boundaries by Stacey Trombley! Myra travels to a health clinic in Haiti with her mother and a group of Americans. Myra is of Pakistani heritage and her mother is a doctor. Her mother expects Myra to become a doctor also, but she wants to be a photographer instead. Myra’s looking for the perfect photo to submit to a scholarship contest. With the help of the Haitian translator, Elias, Myra discovers the beauty of Haiti and learns more about herself and her mother than she could have ever realized on her own. The author’s personal connections with the Haiti setting and the Haitian culture and language make the story an interesting and unique realistic fiction – 4 stars!

Journey to the Rift by Cathi Shaw

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours and Ink Smith Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Journey to the Rift by Cathi Shaw! Brijit attends an all girl school and her two best friends accidentally overhear a mysterious and dangerous conversation involving her. Brijit and Weylon, from an all boy school, will travel to the Rift and fulfill a prophecy. None of the three friends know anything about the Rift or the prophecy, but they do know that Brijit has something to do with both. Brijit and Weylon both learn that the adults they have most trusted are hiding things from them and some of the adults may not be trustworthy at all. The story is great and I love the whole plot! As the story progresses, the characters develop and the plot comes together more smoothly. This is the first book in the Coimirceoiri: Guardians of the Marked Ones series and it alludes to much more adventure and intrigue in the books to come. 4 stars!

Eternal Darkness by J. F. Johns

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Eternal Darkness by J.F. Johns! In a world of humans, cyborgs and human-cyborg combinations, Scarlet finds herself in the Year 2060 with no memory of the past twenty years. Sam and Curtis find Scarlet while driving. Scarlet appears on the road in front of them; they don’t stop in time and they hit her. Scarlet is dead, but little by little she heals herself. They discover that she’s a weapon that can be activated at any time. I enjoyed the diverse characters: Sam is selfless, Perisia seems a bit loony and Eric is comical. The characters are complex and dynamic and each of them has a story of their own. Scarlet is in the middle of a brewing prejudicial war and she has no idea why. Her newfound friends protect and care for her as well as help her recover her memories. The sides confront each other and Scarlet protects who she cares about. This is only the beginning of the war! I rate Eternal Darkness 4 stars for an interesting science fiction plot and the great character pool!

Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano! Wow! The story jumps right into the action and mystery by opening with a girl waking up in a gully, with no memories of the past year or where she is or how she got there. Little by little, she learns what has taken place as her memories trickle back. The human trafficking in this book reminds me a bit of the Liam Neeson movie, Taken, with plenty of mystery and action all on its own. Rachel has a strength unmatched by others and she has to rely on that strength to get her through her current struggles. As her memories resurface, Rachel realizes that many teenagers- male and female – are in danger and she will do whatever it takes to help them. Banter between Rachel and her brother Kyle, alleviate some of the teen angst and dark struggles in this story. A bit of hopeful romance adds charm that lightens the mood also. This is unpredictable and a unique take on young adult mystery and I rate it 4 stars! I appreciate the author adding runaway, suicide, teen safety and teen health and wellness hotline information at the end of the book. As is often the case, when someone suffers it is difficult to ask people we know for help, so this hotline information is a wonderful resource.

In Truth & Ashes

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review In Truth and Ashes by Nicole Luiken, the third and last book in the Otherselves trilogy. This last book of the series focuses mainly on the true world and the characters that live there. Since Qetarah was taken care of, her mentor Malachi is the villain trying to get rid of the four worlds. Belinda fell into my heart because of her tyrant of a grandmother and her friend Demian is interestingly mysterious! Nicole Luiken brings all of the information from the last two books and its four worlds seamlessly into In Truth and Ashes to make a complicated world with dynamic and complex characters into a wonderful fantasy adventure series – 4 stars!

Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken. This is book two of the Otherselves series, which brings two more worlds into the story along with all of the characters, relationships and politics of each world- air and stone, on top of the same information from the fire and water worlds. The author’s creative imagination is astounding because of the complexity of each world and how she brings everything together and makes it all work to become a full-on adventure, fantasy story. I give this book 4 stars for the devious antagonist, the complete world building and the interesting characters!

Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken! Leah is renamed Jehannah by her father, the duke, so he can send her with Queen Qeterah and spy for him. Leah is an illegitimate daughter of the duke’s and he’s sending Leah with the queen in place of his daughter Jehannah. The queen needs an heir from each duchy or region to be able to send and receive messages with the other regions. The queen shows Leah the mirror hall and explains how there is one true world and four others – air, stone, fire and water. Leah lives in the Fire World and they use fire to send and receive messages and rely on volcanoes for stability of their kingdoms. Leah falls into a mirror while cleaning it and inadvertently sees her Water World doppelganger or otherself, Holly. Nicole Luiken builds an amazing and complex world and pulls the story together seamlessly. This first book in this series concentrates on the characters from the two worlds, fire and water. The two worlds collide when the queen meets her doppelganger in the Water World. Exciting and interesting, Through Fire & Sea is the beginning of a series full of adventure and fantasy, 4.5 stars!

Textrovert by Lindsey Summers

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read and review Textrovert by Lindsey Summers! Keeley is a procrastinator and an introvert, while her twin is the opposite; Zach get his homework done and he’s a natural leader. Keeley misplaces her phone and mistakenly switches with a stranger, Talon. The plot twists as secrets are revealed and relationships change. The Peeps are my favorite part of the story because of the strong connection Talon has with his grandfather. I would like to see a Peeps diorama for the book cover. I believe it would be eye-catching and charming and draw readers to the book [speaking as a young adult librarian;)]. I give this book 5 stars for complicated characters and writing that makes the characters realistic!