Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

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The introduction is perfectly written with its foreboding and ominous tale that happens to be true.
Soraya and Sorush are twins. Soraya is hidden away because her touch is fatal. Sorush is the heir next in line to rule the kingdom.
On the day of Sorush and Laleh’s wedding announcement, Soraya meets Azad. He’s been awarded by Sorush for his bravery and for saving his life. Azad is immediately taken with Soraya even after he finds out about her fatal touch. The two of them sneak through secret passages to get into the dungeon so they can ask the prisoner div for help in breaking Soraya’s curse. A div is what gave her mother the curse years ago. The div tells her not to believe her mother’s story. As Soraya discovers the truth about her curse, her family becomes endangered and she has to do some clever thinking to save them. Soraya searches for allies and truths throughout the story as everything changes for her. Beautifully written and based on Persian mythology to give us this unique fantasy, 4 stars!

Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore

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Two of Bitterblue’s advisers have perished in a shipwreck. They managed to send a message for Bitterblue before they perished. The message tells her to look into zilfium, a fuel used in the Torlan continent but illegal to use in Winterkeep. She discovers that she’s been swindled out of money when selling materials from her kingdom’s mountains, unknowingly selling traces of zilfiium that are found next to those materials. She’s angered and decides to visit Winterkeep, taking Giddon and Hava with her. She’s swept overboard and her crew thinks she perished. Instead, she’s being kept hidden away from her crew and most of Winterkeep. We meet her kidnappers and see the conditions she’s kept in. An array of characters fills the pages and intrigue turns the story. This latest addition to the Graceling realm adds another interesting culture to this vast world. Spies, loyalty and grief spin a complex riddle, 4 stars!

The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

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Twenty-six-year-old Olivia keeps her history private and most people at a distance. It’s been twenty years since she was swept away by a rainstorm and was missing for three days. She has no recollection of what happened in those three days. She’s also changed her name from Arden to Olivia and moved to a new town to avoid anyone knowing about her history. Reporters bothered her for years and she wants to keep to herself. She hasn’t been sleepwalking for years, until her neighbor Rick finds her outside one night. The next time she sleepwalks, she trips over a dead body and gets blood all over her hands. She runs to Rick’s house, without thinking, because that’s where she feels safe. The more I read, the more the story twisted! The suspense builds and questions continue to pop up so Olivia doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe. An interesting mystery with just the right amount of creepy suspense, 5 stars!

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

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Amara is set to be the next ruler but she doesn’t pass the test in front of her father or the people of the kingdom that are watching. She’s imprisoned but escapes with Bastian, a mysterious pirate. Amara’s fiancé Ferrick travels with them also. They’re trying to figure out how to stop Kaven. He’s become a ruthless leader and vows to conquer Amara’s father. Along the way, the three of them meet a mermaid and help her escape her servitude and she willingly helps the crew of rebels. They reach Kaven and see firsthand what his rule has cost his people. Amara touches a cursed dagger and sees the memory of what truly happened to the magic so many years ago. The truth could crush her father’s rule. When Amara and her crew return home, they find it under a vicious attack. They jump into the fight and have to do some quick thinking if they’re going to survive. I love the main characters and the development they underwent throughout this book. Amara, Bastian, Ferrick and Vataea are strong, brave and have great loyalty and integrity. I enjoyed the section on Sira’s memory and how it adds a twist to everything Amara and her kingdom know. A grand adventure, 5 stars!

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor

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Alice’s grandmother leaves her a Paris apartment in her will when she passes away. So, Alice travels with her mother and father to Paris to see the tourist attractions and to visit the apartment that no one in the family knew about. Alice discovers a diary from a teen Adalyn, her grandmother’s sister that her grandmother never spoke of. The diary was written in during World War II and ends on May, 30, 1944. Alice meets Paul, a French teen, and the two of them work together to figure out her family’s secrets. Surprising discoveries open Alice’s eyes to her ancestors and to her mother’s depression. Wonderful young adult historical fiction, 5 stars!

Verify by Joelle Charbonneau

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Meri misses her mother every day since an accident took her life. She also tries to emulate and understand her mother’s artwork. Meri wants to become an artist too. Her friend Rose was able to help her get an interview to be considered to participate in the City Art Program that Meri’s mother was such a big part of before her death. Meri has a successful interview but notices strange and suspicious things happening around her. Among them, she sees someone drop paper, a traitorous and wasteful act. Her curiosity gets the best of her and she thinks she’s figuring out some of her mother’s painted clues, so she goes to sights that she believes her mother meant for her to go to. She’s given a piece of paper with the word verify written on it and talked to by a young man. She eventually learns what truly happened to her mother and the underground she was a part of in the last eighteen months of her life. Meri falls down the rabbit hole! Action, intrigue and friendship pull the story along, 4 stars and I’m ready to read the sequel, Disclose.

All This Time by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott

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Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review All This Time by Rachel Lippincott!
A long-lasting relationship broken. A conversation harshly interrupted. A devastating reality. Those are the beginnings of this story. Kyle and Kim have broken up seven times over the course of their relationship. Now Kyle wishes he could go back and let her go and give her the freedom to be happy. He realizes how self-absorbed he’s been since his football accident and his relationships suffered because of it. He moves on and feels accomplished after his loss until he receives another eye-opener! Great writing and a unique storyline and if I give details, I will spoil it for future readers. Fantastic book full of hope, perseverance and love, 5 stars!

  • I received an arc in exchange for voluntary review consideration and all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Fable by Adrienne Young

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Fable is on her own, trying to survive long enough to get off the island her father left her on years ago. Her mother died in a shipwreck and her father deserted her and left her to survive completely on her own. She’s tough and has gained survival skills all by her wits. She manages to get off the island by buying passage aboard the Marigold, a ship that she later discovers is one of her father’s. She finally reaches Saint and he’s just as cold to her as she expected, even though she hoped for more. He does give her the inheritance her mother would have left her but nothing is given easily or with any help when Saint is involved. She also figures out why Saint carved into her arm all those years ago. Fable bargains cleverly and becomes a true part of a crew and she finally feels like she has a place where she belongs. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, a pirate adventure with strong characters, great character development and dangerous setting, 5 stars!

To Whatever End by Lindsey Frydman

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Quinn has inherited a curse that follows the females in her family. This curse shows the future but each female’s version is a bit different from the others. Quinn’s mom saw choices and Quinn sees the death of each person she touches. She meets Griffin at the museum and then discovers he’s her new neighbor. He’s moved from states away for a fresh start. Quinn’s vision of Griffin shows his death by a gunshot, in the near future. Quinn struggles to change his fate and the two of them go on a relationship roller coaster. In the meantime, someone is doing cruel things to Griffin and Quinn and she’s determined to get to the bottom of it all. Someone breaks into Griffin’s apartment and smashes his guitar into pieces and later cuts the brake line on his car. The pranks don’t end there. The problem is revealed and Quinn is devastated by what she finds out. The story is an interesting mystery with a touch of romance, 4 stars!

Crave by Tracy Wolff

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Fun supernatural read for young adults.
Grace has recently lost both of her parents. She’s now becoming a resident of Alaska so she can live with her extended family, her uncle and her cousin Macy. She’s in a bit of a culture shock from the small population and extremely cold weather, since she’s just traveled from San Diego. But when she arrives at Katmere Academy, her new home, she’s astounded. It’s an elegant castle where students reside and her uncle is the headmaster. Grace feels out of place and she can tell which students “run” the school. It seems to be run by the Order, with Jaxon Vega as the leader. Jaxon helps Grace more than once and she starts falling for him. Strange and dangerous things keep happening around and to Grace. She believes that she’s getting to know her fellow students and who she can trust until information is revealed about her parents. The danger surrounding Grace increases to the point where her life is in danger. The book started out cheesy with the silly chapter titles and the almost instant swooning but it’s still a fun read. The depth occurred through character development and a bit of mystery. I enjoyed Jaxon’s perspective at the ending because it helped me understand the situation better. I am curious about and anxious to read the sequel and unravel more of the background of the fun characters. 4 stars for this young adult supernatural fantasy!