Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley, Disney Book Group and Marvel Press for the opportunity to read and review Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl. This first book in the Black Widow series by Margaret Stohl brings to light Natasha Romanoff’s background, which was a lot darker than I would have guessed. Many surprises await as the story unfolds with heroines and heroes. I enjoyed the Russian dialogue and translations, as well as the humor that goes along with Marvel Avengers. A fun read for anyone wanting adventure with a touch of super hero added – 4 stars!

Pushing the Boundaries by Stacey Trombley

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Pushing the Boundaries by Stacey Trombley! Myra travels to a health clinic in Haiti with her mother and a group of Americans. Myra is of Pakistani heritage and her mother is a doctor. Her mother expects Myra to become a doctor also, but she wants to be a photographer instead. Myra’s looking for the perfect photo to submit to a scholarship contest. With the help of the Haitian translator, Elias, Myra discovers the beauty of Haiti and learns more about herself and her mother than she could have ever realized on her own. The author’s personal connections with the Haiti setting and the Haitian culture and language make the story an interesting and unique realistic fiction – 4 stars!

Journey to the Rift by Cathi Shaw

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours and Ink Smith Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Journey to the Rift by Cathi Shaw! Brijit attends an all girl school and her two best friends accidentally overhear a mysterious and dangerous conversation involving her. Brijit and Weylon, from an all boy school, will travel to the Rift and fulfill a prophecy. None of the three friends know anything about the Rift or the prophecy, but they do know that Brijit has something to do with both. Brijit and Weylon both learn that the adults they have most trusted are hiding things from them and some of the adults may not be trustworthy at all. The story is great and I love the whole plot! As the story progresses, the characters develop and the plot comes together more smoothly. This is the first book in the Coimirceoiri: Guardians of the Marked Ones series and it alludes to much more adventure and intrigue in the books to come. 4 stars!

Frostblood by Elly Blake

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review Frostblood by Elly Blake! Ruby is Fireblood, (can build heat and flame within her body and can expel both), and loses her mother in an attack on their home. Ruby is taken as a prisoner because Firebloods are persecuted. She spends some time in prison, then is released to go with Frostblood (can build cold and frost within their bodies and can expel both) people and taken to Forwind Abbey. The abbey catches on fire and one of the monks blames Ruby, so she runs away. Arcus, a mysterious resident of the abbey, finds her in the woods, alone, lost and with no horse. He takes her back to the abbey and she makes an agreement with Brother Thistle and Arcus that she will stay and help them if they explain their purpose to her. They finally have mutual trust and their backstories unfold gradually. This adventurous tale comes to life full of action and intrigue in a beautifully described fantasy world. I enjoyed the depth of the characters and how the explanation of the Frostblood world unfolded – 5 stars! I am anxiously looking forward to the sequel, Fireblood which is scheduled for publication September 2017.

 

In Truth & Ashes

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review In Truth and Ashes by Nicole Luiken, the third and last book in the Otherselves trilogy. This last book of the series focuses mainly on the true world and the characters that live there. Since Qetarah was taken care of, her mentor Malachi is the villain trying to get rid of the four worlds. Belinda fell into my heart because of her tyrant of a grandmother and her friend Demian is interestingly mysterious! Nicole Luiken brings all of the information from the last two books and its four worlds seamlessly into In Truth and Ashes to make a complicated world with dynamic and complex characters into a wonderful fantasy adventure series – 4 stars!

Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken. This is book two of the Otherselves series, which brings two more worlds into the story along with all of the characters, relationships and politics of each world- air and stone, on top of the same information from the fire and water worlds. The author’s creative imagination is astounding because of the complexity of each world and how she brings everything together and makes it all work to become a full-on adventure, fantasy story. I give this book 4 stars for the devious antagonist, the complete world building and the interesting characters!

Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received a reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken! Leah is renamed Jehannah by her father, the duke, so he can send her with Queen Qeterah and spy for him. Leah is an illegitimate daughter of the duke’s and he’s sending Leah with the queen in place of his daughter Jehannah. The queen needs an heir from each duchy or region to be able to send and receive messages with the other regions. The queen shows Leah the mirror hall and explains how there is one true world and four others – air, stone, fire and water. Leah lives in the Fire World and they use fire to send and receive messages and rely on volcanoes for stability of their kingdoms. Leah falls into a mirror while cleaning it and inadvertently sees her Water World doppelganger or otherself, Holly. Nicole Luiken builds an amazing and complex world and pulls the story together seamlessly. This first book in this series concentrates on the characters from the two worlds, fire and water. The two worlds collide when the queen meets her doppelganger in the Water World. Exciting and interesting, Through Fire & Sea is the beginning of a series full of adventure and fantasy, 4.5 stars!

Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty

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Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty is told in Mori’s point of view. She’s the daughter of a police officer, Moriarty. Mori’s given name is James Moriarty and that is why she goes by the name Mori. Mori’s family is struggling after the death of their mother. Since then, her father drinks a lot and has become verbally and physically abusive to her and her younger brothers. Mori is a very logical person and she meets Sherlock and finds they have more in common than she cares to admit. A man is murdered and Sherlock wants to make a game of solving the mystery with Mori. Everything involving the mystery becomes too personal and it’s a race against time to stop the murderer. The story brings friendships, suspense, cleverness and romance together for a wonderful read – 5 stars!

First Contact by Kat Green

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to YABoundBookTours for the opportunity to read and review First Contact by Kat de Falla and Rachel Green (Kat Green)!
First Contact marks the beginning of the Haunts for Sale series. Sloane is a paranormal real estate agent that searches for haunted houses that her customers want to purchase. She’s using this guise to search for her fiance, Michael, who was killed by a drunk driver just weeks before their wedding. He had a motto for being patient and now Sloane is following it to search for him: “…be patient and if things weren’t working out, give it a year and a day.” This is now Sloane’s mantra to keep her going. The haunting mystery holds suspense and creepiness throughout the whole story. The romance factor adds a nice, warm touch to the spooky tale. Lovable protagonists and horrible antagonists kept me on my toes! I give this book 4 stars and recommend it to anyone wanting a macabre, spooky adult read!