House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows!

Verity is tired of staying home at the Highmoor estate and when she receives an invitation to paint portraits for a family in Bloem, she’s absolutely thrilled. Her older sister and caregiver adamantly denies Verity any hope of leaving. This suffocates Verity and when she asks Camille why she’s denying her any hope of freedom and adventure, Camille confides that Verity talks to ghosts everywhere they go, no one else can see them and this makes her and the family look crazy. Verity denies this accusation until proven wrong when told her nanny has been dead for twelve years and Verity had no idea because she talks to her and receives help from her every day. When Verity sneaks away in the night, she feels truly alone for the first time in her life and what awaits her is beyond anything she can imagine.

Likes/dislikes: I love the author’s writing style. The character development was fun to read. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the family in Bloem.
Language: PG-13 for 12 swears, no f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for a passionate kiss and implied sex.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with copper skin; red hair, white skin and freckles; golden brown skin; chestnut skin and a white older man.

Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Will good or evil prevail?

17yo Corayne and her mismatched crew are reeling from the battle to close the Spindle as they observe dead Galland soldiers and sea serpents surrounding them. As they move on, forty Ibal soldiers approach and tell the crew they have orders from their king to take Corayne to him, and the crew travels along because they’re staying together. The group has no idea what to expect when they meet the Ibal king. Erida continues to take kingdoms by force with the help of Prince Taristan and wizard Ronin, both of whom are occupied by the demon What Waits, and when she kills a fifteen year old princess, she gains another kingdom. A new Spindle is found and when Corayne reaches it to close it, she discovers a trap. Will evil or good conquer the realm?

Likes/dislikes: I love the world building and the character development. I enjoyed the intensity of the conflicts. I appreciate how this book and series feel like an epic fantasy.
Language: R for 10 swears and 2 f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for passionate kissing; implied sex, no details
Violence: R for bloody deaths
Ethnicity: Andry has brown skin. Sorasa has bronze skin. Charlie is pale skinned. Sigil has copper skin. Bronze skinned soldiers. Pale skinned wizard. Corayne has golden skin. Valtik the witch is white. Olive toned, bronze skinned and fair skinned raiders. Black skinned immortal. Prince Oscovko is white.

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Wonderful sequel to Belladonna!

Fate kills Lord Wakefield then nonchalantly blames Elijah Hawthorne in a room full of witnesses who watched Elijah give the Lord a drink that’s later found to be laced with cyanide. Fate reveals that he’s Death’s brother and has never forgiven Death for taking his one true love and now he wants revenge. Signa and Death are trying to help prove Elijah’s innocence by finding the true killer. The situation grows much more complicated and truths are revealed that surprise everyone. Signa begins to doubt who she really is when memories surface from a past life and she’s unsure of her fate.

Likes/dislikes: I love the world building with the wonderful descriptions and the prose. I enjoyed Blythe’s spunk. Signa’s strength and kindness is an inspiration.
Mature Content: R for descriptive sex.
Language: PG-13 for 27 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG for death by poison.
Ethnicity: Signa is white. Death is fair skinned. Fate has bronze skin. Blythe is white. Everett has brown skin.

Neverwraith by Shakir Rashaan

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Stand by the people that love you!
Yasir has moved to Oakwood Grove to live with his uncle. He had to leave Atlanta, where he lived with his Nana. He doesn’t know why he was forced to leave, other than his Nana telling him he was in danger. Now that Yasir is in Oakwood Grove, he’s dealing with new problems with bullies coming out of the woodwork. He feels changes in himself and he’s trying his best to get a grip on life and keep calm. When some of his past is revealed, Yasir starts to wrap his head around the importance of standing by the people he loves.

Likes/dislikes: The slang is difficult to get used to. The story didn’t pull my interest until the last third of the book. I was relieved when the characters stopped saying that everything will be revealed later and finally started explaining what was happening to the main characters.
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking
Language: R for 92 swears and 5 f-words.
Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly Black. Taylor has tawny skin. Kendyl is Afro-Latina. Ms. Tyler has beige skin.

Sign of the Slayer by Sharina Harris

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Fun read for supernatural fans!
18yo Raven is on a band trip with her Atlanta high school band and she’s surrounded by friends. When something attacks the bus out of the blue, the passengers have no idea what’s happening. Raven is the lone survivor and is taken to a hotel where she can recover. She discovers that her rescuer, who she calls Pretty Boy, wants to erase her memories from the attack. Raven avoids losing her memories and discovers that her rescuer is the 23yo vampire Prince Khamari and he’s taking her to the Slayer Academy to teach her about the skills that she never knew existed.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the humor. The mystery surrounding the attack and the Slayer/vampire society was interesting. I like Prince Khamari’s character because he’s the most complex character in the book.
Language: R for 227 swears and 20 f-words.
Mature content: R for sex with some details.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Raven is Black. Deidra is white. The chosen one is a white man. Khamari has mahogany skin.

Frenemies With Benefits by Lydia Sharp

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Will they keep up the charade or fall in love?
18yo Jessica is graduating from high school in Pittsburgh and she’s shy and innocent but wants to break through her inhibitions and insecurities. When Ben jokingly offers to help her, she shrugs him off but eventually reconsiders. They’ve been sort of enemies within the same friend group for the past year and Jessica isn’t sure why Ben wants to help her. When they fake date, she sees the side of Ben that he’s kept hidden from her – smart, kind and gentlemanly. Can they continue with this charade without falling for each other?

Likes/dislikes: I like that the publisher states where to check for content warnings/elements of concern before the reader starts the book. The banter between Jessica and Ben is funny and clever. I enjoyed the cute romance parts.
Mature Content: R for detailed sex.
Language: R for 261 swears and 104 f-words.
Violence: none.
Ethnicity: Andrew is Brazilian. Rayna has olive toned skin. Jeremy has dark brown skin. Jessica has porcelain skin.

The Legacies by Jessica Goodman

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Intensity and deception!
The Legacies are selected from six different high schools each choosing six senior students. Bernie is hiding that her mom is possibly missing. Skyler, Bernie’s boyfriend, and Isobel are keeping a mutual secret and he’s also providing her with prescription drugs. Lee is Isobel’s boyfriend and is fairly laid back. Kendall Kirk, their classmate, is the fifth senior chosen and Tori Tasso, at Excelsior on scholarship, is the sixth. The Legacy competition is overwhelmingly intense and when someone dies, everyone becomes a suspect.

Likes/dislikes: I like the alternating timelines between before and after the Legacy Ball. The characters are complex and represented realistically. I enjoyed the mystery.
Language: R for 89 swears and 51 f-words.
Mature Content: R for drug use, mention of masturbating with pillow in seventh grade, no details. Kissing, underage drinking, sex (“bare a.. pumping wildly into someone”).
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Isobel has dark hair and a tan complexion. Tori’s friend Joss is Japanese. A Black woman is a member of the alumni. Lee has dark skin and brown eyes. Bernie has red hair and pale skin.

Holly Horror by Michelle Jabes Corpora

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Ghoulish Ghosts!
16yo Evie and 10yo Stan just moved into Hobbie House in Ravenglass, Massachusetts with their divorced mother. The locals call it Horror House because of a death and disappearance happening to its residents. The story alludes to something that happened to Evie in the past and one of the reasons the family of three moved to have a better life. Evie sees a shadow, hears voices and sees creepy things that make her feel that the house is haunted. When the hauntings start taking over her life, danger comes for Evie and Stan. When Stan goes missing, Evie does everything in her power to find him.
Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the spookiness of the story. I like how the author portrayed each family member as individuals with different personalities and issues. I like the evolution of the mystery.
Language: PG for 22 swears and no f-words.
Mature Content: PG for brief kiss.
Violence: PG for mention of death by shotgun wound, no details.
Ethnicity: Evie is white. Desmond is black. Tina is Latina and Birdie is Korean.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Another great book with a twist!
Mariana reminisces about her late husband and their memories as she tries to hang onto him a little longer. She’s a group therapist and has one patient she and the group struggle with, Henry. Henry has anger issues and was overcoming the extreme childhood abuse inflicted by his father until he began college. Then college overwhelmed him. Marina has a niece, Zoe, who’s attending Cambridge and calls Mariana when her friend Tara goes missing. As Mariana is traveling on a train to meet Zoe, she encounters Fred, a young man who kindly insists that they will meet again. After Mariana arrives at the college, she’s pulled into a belief that a professor is a murderer and she wants to prove it and goes to great lengths to do so as young women are murdered. The story alternates with the background of an abused victim and eventually the reader learns who it is. Another great book with a twist from Alex Michaelides, 5 stars!

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Beginning of an intriguing new series!
Wren is competing in the Bonewood Trials where her father instructed her to not just pass, but pass spectacularly to impress her grandmother, the overseer of the trials. When Wren is double crossed, she’s exiled to the Breachfort which is pretty much ignored by everyone because it’s supposedly desolate. She’s doing her guard duty diligently and when the visiting Prince Leo is kidnapped, Wren goes after him to save him. Julian is an ironsmith with the group who kidnapped Prince Leo but when the group tries to assassinate Julian, he and Wren end up falling in a deep crevasse together. The two of them are born enemies but are forced to work together to save themselves, rescue the Prince, and figure out why someone was targeting Julian.
Likes/dislikes: Amazing world building. I enjoyed the character depth, development and growth. I love the characters of Wren, Julian and Prince Leo.
Language: R for 39 swears and 9 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for passionate kissing.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Wren is fair skinned. Julian has pale skin. Prince Leo has caramel colored hair and light brown skin. Wren’s father has olive skin. Commander has ruddy brown skin.