The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

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Delightfully creepy!

17yo Emer is a curse writer that gives spells to women that are afraid and want protection. 17yo Jude has a demon following her and she’s suffering physically from the toll it’s taking on her. 17yo Zara wants to reanimate the sister she lost a year ago when she was murdered. The three young women end up working together to solve the murder mystery of a serial killer the police are calling the London Ripper. They get themselves in deeper than they bargained for and hopefully they won’t be the next victims.

Likes/dislikes: I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the twists. I was spooked a few times by the creepy descriptions. I like the strength and perseverance of the three main characters, Emer, Jude and Zara. Jude adds humor to the story.
Mature Content: PG-13 for mention of drug use.
Language: R for 162 swears and 27 f-words.
Violence: R for repeated bloodshed and deaths.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mostly white with some Black, brown and olive skin tones included.

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

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Japanese mythology in a YA horror tale!

17yo Madeline is swimming laps in the empty pool when she sees a boy that shouldn’t be there. The boy looks like an emaciated Ian, her friend who died four years ago. Emerson lives for video gaming and when she sees a sickly Ian trying to get to her, she panics. Dax takes a break from playing his guitar at the coffee shop and while he’s in the bathroom, a ghost creeps out of the toilet and beckons him to gather The Foxtail Five. As Owen acts on stage, he sees Ian, so he runs after him and realizes that it’s not Ian. It’s actually a demon. The four friends meet up and learn they have to defeat seven challenges presented by Japanese Shinigami and receive a stone for each one before they can reach Ian and save him from the demonic spirits.

Likes/dislikes: I like the concept of the characters going on a quest to save their friend from the Japanese underworld. The book didn’t keep my interest like I thought it would. The creepiness made the story more fun.
Mature Content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 32 swears and 5 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Madeline is Black. Ian and Emerson are white. Dax has brown skin. Owen is Japanese American.

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst

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Ominous!

Claire has been sent on an enrichment retreat by her parents. She meets Reyva and Mariana who have also been sent to “grow through experiences” at The Lake House summer camp. The three soon discover that nothing is what they expected. The danger builds along with the creepy foreboding. The teens learn that they have to run and hide to save themselves because no one is coming to help.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the whole mystery of the story. I like how ominous the reveal was. The three main characters grew on me.
Mature content: PG for brief kiss, survival struggles such as hunger and dehydration.
Violence: PG-13 for finding a body killed by shooting, being shot at, being held at knife point, suicidal death by gunshot with no details.
Language: PG-13 for 14 swears, no f-words.

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

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The intensity multiplies in the second book of the Kingdom of the Wicked series!

Emilia finds herself in the Seven Circles of Hell with Wrath by her side. He’s guiding her to Pride and she’s reminded of the temptations surrounding her in Hell. Wrath keeps reminding her that what she’s seeing isn’t real but a test.
They eventually get to Wrath’s elaborate home and Emilia senses and eventually knows that he’s continuing to have secrets that either he won’t or can’t share. This is a story of intensities, secrets, curses, deception, bonds, passion, and twists. I could not put this book down and the ending is perfect for continuing the story into the third and final book! Wrath and Emilia have an intriguing relationship and they’re both stuck in a kind of limbo. Emilia has been kept in the dark and Wrath isn’t allowed to divulge information. I’m anticipating the third and final book. This series reminds me of Sarah J. Maas’ writing in the ACOTR series because they’re both awesome! 5 stars!

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

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Supernatural mystery and the beginning of an awesome new series!

Twin sisters grow up hearing tales of the Wicked princes of Hell and heeding the warnings that go hand in hand with the stories. Eventually the warnings of danger wear off since they haven’t seen any real evidence of the Wicked until tragedy strikes when they’re eighteen. Emilia is desperate to find whoever is responsible for Vittoria’s death so she summons a demon but ends up with one of the Wicked, Prince Wrath. His disdain for humans is immense but Emilia wears him down and surprises him with her abilities and intellect. When she’s attacked by a large viper shaped demon, Wrath saves her. He also pulls her out of despair after she’s attacked by Lust. Their relationship fluctuates between understanding each other and despising each other. They’re both trying to stop evil so they decide to work together until tragedy strikes again. This supernatural mystery held my complete attention and I’m excited for the sequel, 5 stars!

Small Town Monsters by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

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Wonderfully creepy!

Dedicated to Ed and Lorraine Warren, which opens up a feeling of foreboding. Vera’s parents are known far and wide as demon hunters and the other students and the entire community treat Vera like she’s a freak. One day at school, Vera notices the all-popular Max staring at her. She’s dumbfounded. Eventually, Max gets up enough nerve to catch Vera at her job working at a neighboring community’s hospital. He explains that he needs her parents’ help dealing with his mom, who is completely terrifying Max. He’s worried his mom will harm his little sister Chloe. Vera goes to Max’s house and immediately after calls her parents for help. They’re on a case in Barcelona and won’t be home for almost a week. It seems that Vera and Max might be on their own. This story became more interesting the longer I read and I didn’t want to put it down! The mystery and the paranormal build a wonderfully creepy young adult horror story, 5 stars!

The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz

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That ending was so much more than I expected!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz!
After the king dies in battle, his best friend makes a bonding vow with the queen to protect her and the royal heir, as well as search for the magical documents and sacred scrolls that have been missing. He has pledged his life and his heir’s life to the queen until the scrolls are found and returned. Eighteen years later, we meet Shadow and Caledon Holt (he’s the best friend’s son, the kingdom’s deadliest weapon and the Queen’s assassin). Shadow is exploring around the Abbey when Caledon saves her life by killing her would-be assassin. The bad thing is that the man Caledon kills is the queen’s brother-in-law, Prince Alast. Alast proves himself a traitor, which is shocking to Caledon. The Queen sends Caledon to Deersia Prison to appease the public and keep the traitorous evidence secret. She wants Caledon to spy and find out where the traitors stem from. Shadow catches a ride to Deersia prison as a stowaway and finds Cal and helps him escape. They move onto Montrice to discover if there’s a spy conspiring against their kingdom and Queen. Shadow and Cal are fun, dynamic characters that work together well but drive each other crazy too. I enjoyed the humor in this book as well as the intrigue and magic. The ending left me ready to read the sequel! 5 stars!

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

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Japanese cultures and legends with a spooky aspect kept me glued to the pages of The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco!
I bought this book years ago because the synopsis intrigued me, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading it until it was set as the October read for the Dragons & Tea Book Club. The first five chapters introduce us to a ghost that sees murderers and scares them to death. This ghost’s life was ended in murder and she seeks justice and rids the world of killers. She notices a teen boy with strange tattoos that he tries to keep hidden as he moves into a house in Applegate, with his father. The boy, Tarquin (Tark for short) lives alone with his father since his mother seemingly tried to kill him when he was younger. The two visit her in the psychiatric hospital and she is terrified when she sees Tark and she’s threatening harm to whoever she thinks is going to hurt him, and only she can see this being. Tark thinks he freaks her out but his mother sees a dark shadow in him. The ghost sees the shadow too. The suspense heightens immensely in the next few chapters and leaves me rooting for the ghostly woman and her strong intentions. Chapters 6- 10: The action picks up alongside the suspense and I didn’t want to stop reading! 11-14: detailed descriptions of Japanese ghost legends surrounding Okiku in the well explain the ghost’s story and the humor picks up as Tark and Callie exchange emails. 15: A group of high school boys committed horrible and mutilating acts on a young woman and this setting opens a chapter with a new murder and retribution. 16-20: Tark, his father and cousin Callie travel to the shrine where Tark’s mother grew up. They learn about her life and all the things they never knew about her from the people she was raised by and grew up with. They witness a possession and exorcism of a little boy and see the shrine’s powers at work. 20-ending: sacrifices are made, tragedy strikes and parts of the shrine are damaged and destroyed.
I love this book and read through it quickly because it was interesting, suspenseful and I grew to love the characters and wanted to know how everything turned out for them. I enjoyed learning more about Japanese culture and legends, 5 stars!

Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa

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Menagerie of Japanese characters!
Thanks to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa!
The book opens with a thousand-year-old legend of a sword known as Godslayer. Tatsumi wielded this sword when it contained the demon Hakaimono. Since then, the demon has possessed Tatsumi, who continues to fight for survival against Hakaimono. Yumeko continues her mission to the Steel Feather Temple but has been waylaid with her companions to try to save Tatsumi, even though a pact was made centuries ago that if Haikaimono possessed a person, that person would be killed to stop destruction that the demon might cause. As everyone tries to thwart the demon’s plans, he shows his power and what he’s willing to do to get what he wants. The plot twists as the rivalry changes and the enemy of both becomes the focus of all. Genno, the demon who wants the scroll pieces so he can summon a Kami for the wish to rule all, will be the focus of the third book in this trilogy. At times, Yumeko seems a bit dim but then she manages to pull off some amazing feats, with the help and inspiration of others; go teamwork! I also found myself struggling to keep names and descriptions straight and I’m sure that’s because I need to learn more about the Japanese culture. 4 stars for a Japanese fantasy full of a menagerie of characters!

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

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Epic fantasy finale!
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare ends The Mortal Instruments series. As the story begins, the Los Angeles Institute and its inhabitants are introduced and then Sebastian strikes. He attacks six institutes around the world, either turning Shadowhunters into his soulless servants or killing them. The Clave orders all Shadowhunters to stay in Idris for their protection. Sebastian knows Clave protocol and he’s using it to his advantage and he’s also using the turned Shadowhunters against their loved ones because he knows the Nephilim won’t be able to stomach killing them. The Clave can’t figure out how to stop Sebastian, so Jace, Clary, Alec, Isabelle and Simon travel to the demon realms to stop him on their own. As they reach the demon realms, each one of them is haunted by a strange dream meant to convey their deepest wishes. Loss is prevalent in this book as families are separated and relationships are broken. The Mortal Instruments series has been a reading adventure. I’m happy the story continues on with The Dark Artifices series because I’m not ready to say goodbye to the world of Shadowhunters.