City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Wow! I’m glad Cassandra Clare continued the Mortal Instruments series!
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare, the fourth book of The Mortal Instruments series, opens as Clary is working hard on her training while Simon is unsure of how to be a vampire and all that it entails. Camille, a vampire clan leader, reaches out to Simon to request that he joins her. Simon doesn’t want to but he’s having a difficult time fitting in anywhere. Shadowhunters are being murdered and Simon has been threatened several times. The Shadowhunters are trying to figure out the murders but only Jace and Kyle, Simon’s roommate, know about the attacks on Simon. Both of them are now Simon’s bodyguards. We are introduced to Lilith in depth and Simon, Jace and Clary are spun in circles. With one surprise after another, City of Fallen Angels packs as much suspense and action as the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series and that last line, whoa! 5 stars!

The Haunted by Danielle Vega

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Perfectly spooky!
Thanks to Bookish First for choosing me as a winner of The Haunted by Danielle Vega!
Hendricks and her family moved to a small town and into a house with history after some undisclosed problems in Philadelphia. The house they moved into is known as the Steele House. This is where a girl was murdered years ago. Hendricks begins to have hallucinations that terrify her. She also discovers tragic things about her neighbor’s past and deals with PTSD ex-boyfriend issues. On the upside, Hendricks makes friends and begins to enjoy her new home but not necessarily the house. Her friends are fun and make her laugh and enjoy life again. But when she’s home, strange and terrifying things happen. A perfectly spooky young adult horror book that gave me chills! The mystery surrounding the house and also Hendricks’ past kept the story interesting and suspenseful, 5 stars for this creepy tale!

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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City of Glass by Cassandra Clare jumps right back into the story as Clary tries to help her mother. Clary ends up staying behind as Jace, Isabelle, Alec, Max and Simon take the portal to Idris. They meet with Sebastian and his cousin Aline. Clary throws a tantrum and she ends up on the outskirts of Idris with Luke. Meanwhile, Simon has been thrown in prison under suspicion of helping Valentine. The events compound and the danger grows for the Shadowhunters as more of Valentine’s past is exposed and the twists and turns build suspense. A wonderful ending to a supposed trilogy, which became so much more, 5 supernatural stars!

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare is an intense sequel to City of Bones!
Jace is back to living with Isabelle and Alec, but their younger brother Max and mother are now at the Institute also. Clary and Simon are dealing with the repercussions of their vampire experience. Maryse, Isabelle’s and Alec’s mother, doesn’t trust Jace, so she calls for the Inquisitor to discover whether or not he’s being truthful about his father. The Inquisitor sends Jace to the Silent City, a horrible prison, for one night. He witnesses the Silent Brothers’ deaths and is rescued by fellow Shadowhunters, Isabelle, Alec and Clary. Next, the visit to the Faerie Queen shows the truth of Jace’s and Clary’s feelings, upsetting Simon, who becomes one of the Undead. Events and turmoil keep the story moving quickly as more of Jace’s and Clary’s backgrounds are brought to light. We learn more about their parents, the Inquisitor and much more! A great second book in the Mortal Instruments series, 5 stars!

Seventh Born by Monica Sanz

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Fantasy with a touch of romance!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Seventh Born by Monica Sanz!
Seraphina lives in a society that’s prejudice against her because she’s a seventh born. She’s not allowed to have any friends, not even other seventh borns, and she’s forced to grovel to authority. Sera does have one forbidden friend that’s helpful and kind to her, Mary. As Mary and Sera are gathering books to give themselves a chance to talk to each other, a teen boy “accidentally” knocks books down on top of them. Sera is so angry that she causes his clothes to smolder without using a wand, so he can’t prove her fault without calling her powerful and without getting himself in trouble for dropping the books. A professor gets her out of the situation and later invites her to see him privately. Sera cautiously visits Professor Barrington and is relieved and surprised when he offers her a referral letter if she’ll help him investigate murders and be his investigative assistant. A new world is opened up to Sera as she learns spells, the history and reality of the seventh born persecution and her own abilities. A fantasy with a touch of romance and some twists, 5 stars!

Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Much more complex than I anticipated!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled for the opportunity to read and review Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel!
I assumed this would be a continuation of Black Bird of the Gallows, but it’s actually a companion novel with separate characters. Essie struggles with hallucinations, like many of her ancestors have. Dresden is the living embodiment of a curse that he received centuries ago. The two meet by chance and stop each other in their tracks. Essie sees Dresden as beautiful and wants to be in his company. Dresden is amazed at her reaction and is intrigued by her. The world building and background history are both fascinating and interesting and this story is so much more complex than I anticipated. A wonderful love story, 4 stars!

 

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Frightening and riveting!
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube!
Marianne is staying with her Aunt Jen until her mother straightens some things out. Marianne’s parents are split up, but her parents leave her in the dark. Marianne breaks and throws chalk during her math class when the teacher asks her to solve an equation at the board but she has no recollection of that. Her parents keep reassuring her that their separation is not her fault. This makes me wonder about the situation they were in and what is going on with Marianne. While living at Aunt Jen’s, Marianne makes a new friend, a helpful friend in Rhiannon, who prefers to be called Ron. Together they try to get to the bottom of Marianne’s struggles. During an experiment with Marianne, something frightens Ron terribly and she runs away and leaves Marianne on the beach where Marianne had an episode and Ron recorded the audio part of it. Frightening and riveting! I didn’t want to put the book down. This creepy, supernatural read gave me chills and food for thought- we all have to fight our own personal demons. 5 stars!

Legend of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Legend of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy is a twist on a beloved fairy tale.
The prologue grabbed me with shock and fright and built my interest in the book, even more than the synopsis already had. Brielle lives with her grandmother, who’s a healer and is training Brielle to be a healer also. A few deaths have occurred and the victims have been horribly mutilated. Brielle has been having dreams about gruesome murders and when she discovers that those same victims actually have been killed, she begins to suspect that her dreams are visions. Knights have come to capture the beast that’s been killing people and the villagers are sure that the knights can rid them of this horrible beast. In the meantime, Raul (a wanderer) and Kenrick (a knight) show their feelings for Brielle and she reciprocates their feelings without even realizing and then she wonders how she can care for both of them. The tale twists and turns and grows as everything comes to light. An interesting play on a beauty and the beast type story, 4 stars!

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas opens as Feyre is trying to come to terms with the violence she endured and the choices she made Under the Mountain in helping rid the Faerie world of Amarantha. Tamlin proposed to Feyre, so planning their wedding has become a daily activity and she’s grateful for the help of Ianthe, a visiting High Priestess. On Tamlin and Feyre’s wedding day, Rhys bursts in and breaks up the celebration before vows are given. Rhys is there to claim the deal of Feyre spending one week out of every month with him in the Night Court. His first mission is for Feyre to learn how to read. Rhysand is priceless, with his lackadaisical attitude, cleverness and charm. He’s also showing tremendous patience, especially when he seems so alone. Tamlin has kept secrets from Feyre and has trapped her inside his manor, making her feel like a prisoner. Because of this, Feyre had an extremely dark, strong panic attack and Rhys’ cousin Mor saved her and brought her to Rhys. She’s now a resident of the Night Court. Rhysand made Feyre the Emissary to the Human Realm because she is a human that died and was given life by the seven High Fae Lords and will hopefully help bridge and build human-faerie relations. Rhys has given Feyre a specific mission to find and retrieve a special, hidden book that can give extreme power to the wielder. Rhys and Feyre become closer as they adjust to each other and try to overcome the evil threat to the Fae and Human Realms. A sequel full of action and suspense, A Court of Mist and Fury adds tremendous depth to this series and I cannot wait to start reading the next book; a well-earned 5 stars!

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

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Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins opens with a story from Rome in the 1700’s where two Nephilim are punished for loving each other. Six months have passed since book one and since Anna and Kaidan have seen each other. Kaidan and Anna know they need to stay apart for their own safety as well as the safety of the rebelling Nephilim and supporting demons. Anna has been given a mission and she’s going to be working with Kope. Their mission is to save a young woman in a part of the world where women are devalued, degraded and abused. Her name is Zania. Kope and Anna meet with two Nephilim and then their emotions get in the way, so they decide traveling together is too difficult. Anna then travels alone and she is finally able to have a conversation with Kaidan and they are finally honest with each other and learn how to make their relationship work. Unexpectedly, Kope and Kaidan work together, by wearing Arabic disguises and saving Zania by pretending to purchase her for slavery. Blake, Kaidan, Anna, Kope and Zania are forced to hide in the cold ocean water because the Dukes come to the island they are staying on. While shivering in the water, they are witnesses to a Nephilim murder by the Neph’s own father. The group works with Anna’s father, continually strategizing to build the rebellion up. Sweet Peril is just as exciting as the first book, Sweet Evil, in this supernatural series by Wendy Higgins. 5 stars!