Bryn Roth is being sent away from her home, by Aunt Sariah, to make her way in the family business. She arrives and is greeted by family she hasn’t seen since she was four years old. The Roth family is rough around the edges, even if they dress nicely and have money. Uncle Henrik wants Bryn to help the family gain a merchant ring and become guild members, so she gets a reputable tailor to make customers clothes for everyone and she teaches them etiquette and manners. She works hard to belong but is shocked when she sees the brutality of Henrik’s rules and punishment.
Whip smart Bryn, brooding Ezra and cold hearted, selfish Uncle Henrik help create another winning adventure story by Adrienne Young, 5 stars!
Cleo gets done showering and sees a gift- wrapped package on the bathroom sink that wasn’t there before she got in the shower. She assumes it’s from a family member or friend but when she asks about it, no one has any idea about the package. This freaks Cleo out so she calls the police and the cop is respectful and helps her realize that she did the right thing by calling. No victim shaming. Her best friend Hope shows up in the meantime. The officer finds a few windows unlocked in her house but nothing else. After the officer leaves, the two friends find another box containing a scavenger hunt clue like the first package. The hunt grows creepier as the clues dredge up memories that Cleo would like to forget. This mystery gets more interesting as the creep factor cranks up! A fun, fantastic horror story, 5 stars!
Roots of Ruin by Amber Mitchell Book three in the Garden of Thorns series. Rose/Arianna works alongside Rayce to unite their two kingdoms and to restore her rightful place as ruler of her kingdom. There’s a traitor in their group who keeps giving valuable information to the enemy and man who took Arianna’s father’s life and crown, King Ganem. As king, he has broken apart families and caused extreme poverty and violence. With Rayce’s help, they plan to bring the kingdoms together and create peace. The stress picks up at the last third of the book when the traitor is discovered and the rebels find themselves in a twisted mess. A solid ending in this YA dystopian series, 4 stars!
Fantastic world building and strong character development, 5 stars for this series opener!
Different lives become connected through unpleasant events. Andry witnesses the horrible deaths of a group of knights that he was traveling with. One brother killed another and set loose a horde of violent corpses that kills everyone in its path. Reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings, this updated epic fantasy brings action and a gathering of many to fight a common enemy that wants to take over the world. The group of forsaken allies grows stronger after being betrayed by someone they thought was one of their own. This group is made up of a young woman with a special family line, a large and powerful Elder, an honorable squire, a young assassin and more continue to join as the story unfolds. They face dangerous creatures and powerful foes in this high, epic fantasy that opens a series bound to be a story for the ages! Fantastic world building and strong character development, 5 stars for this series opener!
Pip is doing her Capstone Project on a five-year-old disappearance case that took place in her town. She isn’t sure that the case was truly solved. She introduces herself to everyone that she thinks was involved in Andie Bell’s disappearance and ruffles lots of feathers as she continues her investigation. Pip and Ravi become friends as they work on solving the mystery. Ravi’s older brother was accused of killing Andie and then committing suicide afterward. The amateur sleuths dive into the case and unravel a complicated weave of problems. Soon, Pip is receiving threats to stay away from the case and it seems that every time she finds a piece of evidence to someone’s guilt, she inevitably discovers more to the story. An enjoyable and intricate mystery, 5 stars!
Kennedy has lost her family in a shooting so she’s currently living with her uncle. Nolan’s brother, Liam, has been missing for two years and there doesn’t seem to be any clues to help find him. Kennedy and Nolan meet unexpectedly because of a weird radio signal that shows up while Kennedy is looking at her brother Elliott’s satellite equipment and while Nolan is reading an EMF monitor. The two of them work to figure out what has happened to their loved ones. Nolan is hoping to find Liam and Kennedy is hoping to find information that will clear Elliott’s supposed guilt of shooting their mother and her boyfriend Will. Nolan and Kennedy figure out connections that no one, not even police or detectives have been able to find. Eerie mystery that I couldn’t put down, 5 stars!
Content warning for depictions of eating disorders, suicide, drunk-driving, date rape and drug and alcohol misuse. The creepy cover promises something foreboding ahead. Several teens are mailed a note to meet at the old, abandoned pier where a carnival was burned down decades ago. The notes all ask the same question, “Can you keep a secret?” As they wander around the area, more teens appear, all with a similar note. As one of them walks on the pier, it collapses, trapping them away from the mainland. One of them dies, then another and the rest are scrambling to figure out how to get off of the island. Mysterious, suspenseful, and creepy! The cliffhanger at the end of chapter 17, when the group follows a trail of blood and ends up at the maze of mirrors, is deliciously ominous! This book is on the same line as It by Stephen King, but for young adults. Guilt feeds the dark entity and only one can survive. Creepy fun, 4 stars!
Agnes resides within a cult at Red Creek but she doesn’t realize that she’s part of a cult. She’s the eldest of several siblings and is responsible for taking care of their family because their mother is severely depressed. Agnes sneaks to the Outside once a month to retrieve insulin for her younger brother Ezekiel, even though she knows it’s against the rules. Her sister Beth, the next eldest sibling, is a rebel and doesn’t like the rules. When Beth is caught kissing a boy, she’s disgraced by their father and the community. Agnes has been betrothed as a sixth wife to a middle-aged man and before she gets married, she has to teach Beth everything so she can then become the family caretaker. The middle-aged man decides to marry Beth instead of Agnes to straighten Beth out. In the meantime, a ferocious virus is spreading throughout the world and eventually arrives at Red Creek. The Prophet releases an infected dog during a church meeting and, after a few people are bitten, he tells them about his revelation; the Rapture has arrived and everyone must move into the underground bunker. Agnes escapes with Ezekiel and is heartbroken that she’s left the rest of her siblings behind. She knows that the bunker would be a death sentence for Ezekiel because there’s no insulin for him. This is a riveting story about cults, self-worth, self-importance, bravery, love, loyalty, and sacrifice. The author’s note explains the cult background information being from a nonfiction book of a survivor who escaped a true cult. A wonderfully written and all-encompassing story about love, sacrifice, and different faiths, 5 stars!
Detective Jazz is assigned a case of a missing detective. The case belonged to Roberts and he investigated for two days then supposedly left town for a different job. There’s no way to get a hold of him. The murderer is leaving poems on paper inside the victims’ mouths and Detective Jazz thinks he has a god complex. Many investigators are helping with the case, from tracking cyanide purchases to surveillance. Jazz believes she has it narrowed down to a man she refers to as The Poet. I enjoyed the book until the ending. The mystery has an interesting base but feels rushed in the end. I would have liked a little more length added to the chase. The ending felt anticlimactic. 3 stars!
Rain and Freddie are perfectly content with their present lives and the future they’ve planned together until her mother shows up. Freddie’s mother left her at birth and shows up unannounced and brings not-so-good news of a contract signed when Freddie was hours young. If Freddie doesn’t completely cut ties with Rain and marry Conrad, Rain will be killed. People are getting hurt, being attacked and being accused of illegal acts. The mystery becomes more complicated and complex before it begins to unravel. Strong characters and brave actions made me root for them. A fun read, 4 stars!
