Creepy and more complex than The Haunted! Hendricks is trying to get past the loss of Eddie with the help of her friends. She thinks that Steele House is destroyed and when strange things start to happen again, she hopes that it’s Eddie trying to contact her. An evil has been set loose in Drearford that connects the murders that have occurred in town over the past several decades. New terror builds on top of what Hendricks has already uncovered, creating a complex string of horrible events. Suspense, hold your breath terror and an unexpected ending, 5 stars!
Ominous and intense! Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus! Twins, Ellery and Ezra, travel to their Nana’s home to stay while their mother is in rehab. They’ve known about their aunt Sarah’s mysterious disappearance for a long time and when they get to Echo Ridge, they get more than they bargained for. Another young woman went missing five years ago and now new threats are popping up right before a new teen comes up missing. The story is ominous and becomes suspenseful when danger becomes reality. Endearing characters and a creepy killer sum up this book, 5 stars!
Dystopian and sci-fi mix that I couldn’t put down! Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Marie Lu’s newest book, Skyhunter! Talin lost her ability to speak years ago when the Federation attacked her home and her vocal cords were burned by a chemical they released. She learned sign language, along with her mother, so they could communicate. She becomes a Striker, a Maran soldier that fights the Federation, and she’s extremely good at it. She becomes a Striker because another soldier saw her worth and helped and supported her. His name was Corian and he has a wonderful, strong set of values and character. The two of them make a fantastic fighting team together. A Federation soldier finds his way to Mara, causing suspicion, since no one knows whether or not he’s a spy. The minute Red arrives, the danger from the Federation amps up. This dystopian book opens up a new series that promises suspense, action, intrigue and an array of interesting characters, 5 stars!
Action packed historical fiction with a supernatural twist! Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Roaring by Lindsey Duga! A siren, Eris, hides in a speakeasy in Boston during the roaring 1920’s. A bureau agent, Colt Clemmons, is sent to capture and bring her in because they believe she’s a monster. Eris sings with the band but refuses to speak to anyone since she doesn’t want to influence people, except when she can use her influence for good. Colt and Eris run and become involved in numerous acts of violence and danger, while falling for each other. They also discover a devious plot that no one suspected. I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of the 1920’s setting and both the characters of Colt and Eris. The supernatural added a unique twist to the story and brought in a bit of science fiction also. Genre-bending story set in the 1920’s, 4 stars!
A fantastical adventure for young adults! Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Margaret McElderry Books for the opportunity to read and review Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson! Elisabeth is a librarian who aspires to be a warden of the library. Many books are “alive” and have to be kept safe and sometimes locked up to prevent harm. The Book of Eyes escapes and Elisabeth is locked up afterwards. She’s transported to Chancellor Ashcroft’s where she discovers that he’s the mastermind behind the Director’s death and many more atrocities. She escapes his clutches and finds refuge at the Thorn residence. Nathaniel Thorn is a young sorcerer and his servant, Silas, is a higher demon that has served the Thorn family for generations. Together, the three of them try to end the sabotage of the Great Libraries and continue to unravel the entire plan. I really want this book to be the beginning of a series instead of a stand alone book. The fun, dynamic characters and the library setting with live grimoires makes an interesting world that I don’t want to leave. 5 stars for this fantastical book!
Revolutin by Jennifer Donnelly pulled me into historical Paris! By page 50, I was completely hooked by this book! I love and feel for Andi, I enjoy her clever sarcasm and appreciate the intellectual and cultural references throughout the story! Andi’s younger brother died in the street two years earlier and she’s never been able to move on and neither has her mother. Her father is handling it better due to his scientific and analytical thinking. Since Andi is failing classes, her father decides to take her to Paris during winter break. He wants her to work on her thesis and improve her grades during their stay in Paris. The two of them stay with her father’s long time friend and French Revolution historian. Andi accidentally discovers the journal of the young king’s caretaker during the Revolution. She becomes engrossed with the journal and the information it holds. Her reality begins to intertwine with the Revolution history and she wishes for the young king to be safe just as she wishes the same thing for her brother. This is my favorite historical fiction book with the strong and tortured main character, extreme character development and depth, research based story line and the vivid descriptions of Revolutionary Paris, 5 stars!
A Guide to Happiness by Tara Ward. This quick guide offers helpful tips and information on using mindfulness and meditation. Seven steps build a way for making happiness a regular and natural part of our lives. The chemistry of our emotions and hormones is explained easily and concisely to help readers understand how and why we feel the way we do, depending on the situation. Several meditation exercises are placed throughout this guide. One of my favorites is the happiness cloud. The book closes with the Happiness Plan which involves questions and exercises to help gear our minds to daily happiness. A fun guide to happiness!
When I was first approached about reading and reviewing this book, I didn’t know the term for the actions of manipulative people. Now I know gaslighting means exactly that. This book is a helpful and logical guide to recognizing, dealing with and overcoming the manipulative behavior of gaslighters, those narcissistic people that bring toxicity to everyday life. Examples are given of workplace scenarios and family situations to help identify the behavior.The next section delves into the questions of how and why people become manipulative. Then into the types of gaslighting. Some gaslighting occurs with intent while others can be unintentional. Gaslighting techniques are explored and discussed to help identify this behavior. Common signs of a gaslighting victim’s actions are listed also, to help readers recognize if this is happening to themselves or someone they know. Gaslighting is a “tool” of narcissists, who manipulate those around them. Effects of gaslighting on the victim can alter and inhibit normal life. Loss of self esteem, confidence, friends, emotional expression, feeling anxious and depressed, trust issues and submissive behavior are some of the results or effects of being a gaslighting victim. Being a victim can also take a huge toll on physical well being, since stress can cause health issues. Luckily, we can deal with and overcome gaslighting. First, recognition is the key and trusting yourself will help you gain the confidence needed to put the behavior out of your life. Self-affirmation exercises can help you gain your confidence back and mindfulness and meditation can help you strengthen your resolve and deal with and stop being a victim. Self-help for building awareness and regaining confidence!
The new series, by Sarah J. Maas, opens with House of Earth and Blood which involves Bryce, half-fae/half-human and her world. The cover is beautifully complex! In the beginning of the book, Bryce is trying to calm her wolf friend because of an injustice occurring, which let a criminal receive freedom. Bryce goes on a date with her human boyfriend and he ignores her the entire time, so she dumps him and leaves to party at a club with her friends. As Bryce returns home, she can tell something is off, even though she’s wasted. Once she reaches her apartment she finds her best friend and roommate, Danika, slaughtered, as well as the rest of Danika’s wolf pack. Briggs, the criminal that had been set free, is arrested for the murders because of evidence and motive. Two years later, the same type of murder takes place while Briggs is still in prison. Bryce is assigned to work with the police to help find the murderer. She reluctantly and grudgingly let’s them follow her around for her protection and she spends more time and energy being annoying, rude and wasting the police’s time when all she needs to do is give them a list of Danika’s whereabouts and who she spent the last week of her life around. This makes Bryce seem like a completely selfish brat. While she seemed to be wasting time, she was actually gathering information to share with the Angel protecting her. Eventually Bryce and Hunt, the Angel guard, work together and try to find answers to several mysteries, not just Danika’s death. They also become friends and more to each other. Things take a turn for the worst and Hunt feels like he will be a slave forever. Twists and surprises abound and make this first book in the Crescent City a great start to a promising new series, 5 stars!
The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, the prequel to the Hunger Games series, we meet a youthful President Snow. We get to know his goals and family. Coriolanus Snow wants to be a mentor for the Hunger Games. He does become a mentor but he’s disappointed with who he gets, the girl from District 12. He assumes she’ll be weak and unhealthy and be one of the first to die in the games. What he gets is a complete surprise. The action starts well before the games and many odd characters are brought into the story. Coriolanus has integrity and is honest with himself about his actions and who he truly is, even though he sees himself and his family a bit above others and he wholeheartedly believes in helping himself. He realizes variables and factors of human nature as he continues to do his best to support his charge, Lucy Gray. His arrogance pushes him to choose himself above anything or anyone else. By the ending, I’m saddened and appalled by his selfishness. A great read with many nods to the future of the Hunger Games, 5 stars!
