One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Magical cards abound!

When Elspeth was nine, she caught the dreaded fever that gave unwanted magic to the people who became sick. If you became infected, you would have to hide your symptoms. After the infection, Elspeth gets a monster in her mind that speaks to her and manifests itself to protect her. One night, Elspeth has a dream and she sees a man in golden armor with yellow feline eyes. When he sees her, he disappears and the nightmare takes his place. He recites a poem that sounds like he’s the man in golden armor, the king, and Elspeth, a young woman; the two of them together make up the Nightmare. Elspeth has been hiding her infection for eleven years. When she meets Rayvn, the Captain of the Destriers, who are ordered by the king to get rid of those who are infected, Elspeth is terrified. There’s more to Rayvn than meets the eye.

Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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Feels like a warm hug!

Kiela lives in Alyssium and loves her job as a librarian. The only social interaction she gets is with Caz, the sentient spider plant that resides in the library too. When the library is burned, Kiela and Caz take as many magical books as they can and sail away to Kiela’s birthplace, Caltrey, which she hasn’t been too for a long time. They move into her parents’ abandoned cottage and hope that they won’t be found hiding the restricted magical books. Kiela has always enjoyed being alone and antisocial but her new neighbors see things differently and will try to break down her barriers any way they can.

Likes/dislikes: This is a sweet book. Charming, innocent and full of fantasy. The book was so relaxing to read and it truly was comforting.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: G – no swears.
Violence: PG for prejudice.
Ethnicity: A variety of races, species and colors.

Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake

Posted on by lynndellwatson

A hero’s journey…

Reed is eight years old when raiders arrive in her village and kill everyone except her. Her family’s lodge burns and falls down and she’s hidden in the wreckage next to her mother’s body. The raiders find her and take her to be a sacrifice to their god for their safe journey home. Before the raiders leave, two strong women arrive and save Reed and take her to live among their warrior kind, the Aristenes. She’s raised to believe she will become a great warrior and find a hero that will die a glorious death so she can become an Aristene also. Reed learns that life isn’t black and white or easy.

Likes/dislikes: Reed is a strong character who believes in right and wrong. Reed has a great relationship with the two other girls being raised to become Aristene warriors alongside her, Gretchen and Lyonene. The story shows the importance of love, loyalty, strength and friendship.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 10 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for deaths, bloody fighting.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity is mixed with many skin tones. Reed has tan skin.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

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What choice would you make?

The Crown Royale virus seems to be everywhere and it either becomes fatal or creates a happy mindset in survivors. Mariel and her mom are homeless and she believes that the virus would make life great but her mother doesn’t. Ron, the youngest of six children, hosts his rich father’s Airbnb and welcomes people to stay for four nights at the beautiful penthouse for a very cheap price. This will be the last stay before the penthouse closes. His father is wanting to live in isolation so they don’t catch the virus and give all their money to charity because they’re out of their right minds, all caused by the Crown Royale virus. Morgan reaches her internship meeting, where she meets with a very rich woman who has recently been diagnosed with Crown Royale and wants to bequeath everything to Morgan to eradicate the virus. Ron becomes an alpha-spreader, Mariel is immune, Morgan wants to do everything possible to eradicate the virus and after inheriting tons of money and partnering with Ron’s extremely rich father, she has the means to.

Likes/dislikes: I love the inclusion and representation of several different ethnicities and cultures. The stories of random people and encounters intrigued me and helped cement the nature of the virus and its effect on people. I enjoyed how the author explored the choices people made and their actions. Interesting story.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 65 swears and 6 f-words.
Violence: PG for death.
Ethnicity: Ron is of Spanish descent. Morgan is Eurasian, Mariel is white.

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

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Coincidence or deception?

This is a mystery with many layers that continue to unravel as the story progresses. I couldn’t put the book down!

Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Is anything real?

Mullory feels alone and helpless. Her mother left her to take care of her terminally ill grandmother, leaving her with this warning, “Run if the strange finds you”. She starts receiving letters and doesn’t want to open them but when Elliot, a family services worker, arrives and tells her he’s checking in on Mullory and her Gran and seeing how difficult their situation is, might have a solution to help them. Elliot tells Mullory to open the letters. Inside is an invitation to Stoutmire Estate to participate in a game of mystery to win an inheritance. When she arrives at the estate, Mullory discovers that Elliott is actually Edwin and serves the estate owner, Xavier Stoutmire. Then things become more strange because a murder has been committed and a game has been created by the deceased that’s outlined in the will. The players must unravel the mystery with magical clues, riddles and illusions full of danger.

Likes/dislikes: The book is definitely written for YA with the quips and easy crushes. I like how the author added literary quotes to broaden the impact. Flashbacks are sprinkled throughout the story as echoes that the characters can see. The author created an eclectic mix of characters.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 86 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

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A monster hurricane changes the world!

Nonie lives in the American Museum of Natural History in New York because of the immense hurricane and other intense storms that have swept over the world. When a huge flood hits the museum, Nonie leaves with her sister Bix, their father and their family friend Keller. They are heading to their Aunt Clare’s house. On the way, they fight nature as the storms increase in strength, the wild and unknown. They try to stop for rest from the river and shelter from the rain but meet Lost, two men that only seem to want to harm. Father gets shot, Bix also gets shot and Keller gets pneumonia from jumping into the dirty river to rescue their boat from the strong currents. Will any of them survive?

Likes/dislikes: The story has an interesting premise and dystopian plot. The author made the main characters flawed and relatable. I like that the story was carried on by hope, even when everything seemed lost.
Mature content: G for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 13 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: mixed.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Extremely interesting and unique story!

Dia Gannon is applying for an internship at Darkly, once a game making enterprise, now lies dormant after the owner died thirty-nine years ago. Dia is suspicious of the internship announcement because there’s no hidden clue, message or riddle, which is nothing like the owner Louisiana Veda who did everything mysteriously.
Dia receives a letter announcing that she is one of the seven internship winners that have been chosen from across the globe and will be flying to London for the summer to complete the internship with the others. Dia meets Poe, the 17yo French winner, on the flight to London; Poe has a Darkly game inside a briefcase cuffed to his wrist. They meet the five other interns when they arrive at the boat that will take them to the Louisiana Veda factory near Thornwood, England. Dia feels deceptive vibes and she’s worried about what she’s gotten herself into.

Likes/dislikes: I was immediately immersed in the story due to the voice of the main character, Dia. Dia is quirky, smart, and tough. The book was extremely interesting and unique and I couldn’t stop reading once I started.
Mature content: G for kissing.
Language: R for 16 swears and 2 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death by shooting.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with characters from around the world.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

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Ben is doing a podcast about Lucy who supposedly murdered her friend Savannah five years ago. Lucy was found bloody and beaten and can’t remember anything about what happened. Savannah was found dead, bloody and beaten. There wasn’t enough evidence to convict Lucy but most of her Texas hometown thinks she’s guilty.

Lucy heads home for her grandmother’s birthday and after her grandmother’s request, meets Ben. He wants to find out the truth about what happened to Savannah. Ben interviews many people and, little by little, Lucy regains some memories. Is Lucy a murderer or not?

Magnificently narrated audiobook and an interesting story!

Fledgling by S.K. Ali

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Complex fantasy in a dystopian world!

Third person telling of five main characters in a world trying to survive; Upper Earth claims to want peace and unity and Lower Earth claims to want the same but with transparency, honesty and equality. The rebels believe Upper Earth wants to oppress Lower Earth even more than it has been for decades. Raisa is betrothed to Lein; Raisa has been raised in Lower Earth and Lein was raised in Upper Earth and they’ve been betrothed by their parents to bring the division together. Nada and Nayf are twins released from prison and they want to protect Raisa, even though Lein is their cousin. Musaid is Lein’s friend and he and Nada are in love. Their lives entwine and the danger builds while political intrigue and untrustworthy rulers cause havoc. Will the five survive?

Likes/dislikes: This story is a complex fantasy in a dystopian world. The author develops the characters well. There are many characters to keep track of but the author paces the introductions well to help with keeping track of each one.
Mature Content: PG-13 for off page sex.
Language: PG for 8 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for torture, bloody injuries, and bloody death.
Ethnicity: brown skin, dark brown skin, and olive hued skin.