A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance

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A fun, spooky YA read!

Mazzy and Nora love to learn about harmless spells, especially living in New England. Their idea of spells being fun changes when they find a dead body with missing hands after casting a simple spell and Nora starts to feel the spirit taking over her mind. Nora starts changing and gets more and more interested in and pulled into the dark side of magic which seems to involve the body they found. More bodies are discovered with missing hands and Polaroid pictures of the victims when they’re alive are being left for Nora and Mazzy in random places. The friends want to solve the mystery and help the police but they’re being threatened and pulled into danger.

Likes/dislikes: I like how the author sets up for the supernatural setting of the book. Tough issues are brought up with some of the side characters and I like how the characters help each other deal with them. The underlying cause of the magic, the Egyptian cult, added an extra element of creepiness to the story.
Language: R for 56 swears and 5 f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for kissing, vaping and drinking mentioned.
Violence: PG-13 for gunshot, dead bodies found with missing hands.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le

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Enemies to lovers clean romance!

Nikha is a heartsooth, a person with abilities to heal themselves and others. When she finishes healing a person as requested, the man turns her in and calls the Butchers. They cage her and take bids from buyers that visit her cage. She’s sold to a young woman who offers a huge amount of money for Nikha, Mimi Congmi. They travel to the Congmi manor where Nikha is asked to heal Hendon, the only witness to Mimi’s father’s death. Mimi and her brother believe he was murdered. When Nikha heals Hendon, the information he offers throws them all into a whirlwind of danger and deception.

Likes/dislikes: The mystery grabbed my full attention. The world building and character development brought the story to life. I enjoyed learning about Nikha’s background.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 17 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence- stabbing, gunshot wounds.
Ethnicity: Nikha has golden brown skin. Nikha’s grandmother has skin a shade darker than hers. The Congmi family has pale, rosy skin.

The Deathly Grimm

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Conclusion to the Forest Grimm twisted fairytale duology!

Clara and Axel follow a group of sisters in a trance as they’re being called into the cursed forest. Clara and Axel want to save the sisters from the curse which will cause them to go mad or die. As they follow them, Clara meets Harlan, an enchanted frog, and she frees him with a kiss that turns him back into his human form. Harlan helps Clara have visions which give her clues to the person who murdered a Grimm Hollow villager, causing the curse. Clara and Axel sift through the clues to discover the murderer, which will ultimately break the curse on their village and they need all the help they can get. Harlan seems to be helpful but can he be trusted?

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed how the author incorporated fairytales into the story and how she twisted them a bit. I liked unraveling the mystery behind the curse and how the author used Clara’s incomplete visions to
create uncertainty about the suspects. Axel is still so kind and caring but he also shows insecurities and frustration.
Mature content: PG-13 for kissing.
Language: PG for 2 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence.
Ethnicity: Clara and Henni have pale skin and Axel has tawny skin. Lila has bronze skin.

The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

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Twisted fairytales!

Clara is determined to save her lost mother from the Forest Grimm where she wandered into three years ago. Her best friends Axel and Henni join Clara and they want to save Henni’s lost sister also. The Forest Grimm changed when a curse happened in Grimm Hollow and twisted the magic that used to be helpful to the villagers. The three are in danger of becoming lost themselves because the Forest moves and changes. They are surrounded by creatures who want to cause them harm. They can only trust each other and hope that trust is enough to save them.

Likes/dislikes: Axel’s gift for finding silver linings in any situation is charming. I enjoyed the story of the young ghost, Ollie. It adds a bit of spookiness and melancholy. The author wove a creepy tale of twisted magic.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG for 3 swears.
Violence: PG for death.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake

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Friends to enemies to love interests!

Zeru is from the underground. Cassia is a princess from the forest. Their kingdoms are enemies. When Zeru and Cassia were seven, they accidentally found each other in the forest and became friends. Zeru took a ring from a family jewelry box and gave it to his new friend Cassia, inadvertently creating a bond between the two of them. He also unknowingly started a war between their kingdoms. Ten years later, the battles continue and Cassia is captured by Zeru, so he can recover the ring for the queen of the Cryptlands.

Likes/dislikes: I like how the author placed mythological statements at the beginning of each chapter, giving insight into what would happen during that chapter. I love Cassia with her gentle personality and loving kindness. The realm of Welkincaster was fun to “see” change and grow into a beautiful sanctuary.
Mature content: PG for gentle kissing.
Language: PG for 3 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody hitting.
Ethnicity: fantasy creatures.

Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake

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Heroes and Villains!

After losing her hero, Reed has thrown herself head first into serving the Aristene. She has sent three heroes to their glorious death in less than a year. When her fellow Aristene, Lyonene, is called to help a hero, she begs Reed to take her place. Lyonene wants to stay with her hero, prince, and husband Alsander. What Reed and Lyonene don’t know is how much this one decision will change their lives.

Likes/dislikes: I liked the dynamic between Reed, her mentor, her hero and her fellow Aristene. This series will have more than two books. The story doesn’t end on a cliffhanger but it left me wanting to know what’s to come.
Mature content: PG-13 for off page sex and implied sex, off page.
Language: PG-13 for 15 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for attempted sexual assault, off page murder, bloody violence and bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: white, tan, and olive skintones are mentioned.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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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

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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.

Skyshade by Alex Aster

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More to come in this series!

Isla struggles with leaving Oro behind but knows it’s best for the sake of Lightlark. She’s still angry with Grim for erasing her memories but odd and destructive incidents help them work together to save the realms. Isla discovers a feather that writes on its own leading her to learn about skyres, items that hold soul pieces. Zealots are disguised and Isla begins trusting them. She also starts to think that she’s the person causing destruction. Is Isla the traitor?

Likes/dislikes: I like the mystery surrounding the unknown traitor who’s wreaking havoc. I don’t really feel that Isla loves Oro as she loves Grim, who seems to be her soulmate. I enjoyed the author’s world building.
Mature Content: R for on page sex.
Language: PG for 7 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Isla has tanned skin, Oro is golden and Azul is dark brown. Others have light brown skin and white skin. Remlar is blue skinned.