The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

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Is Armand capable of murder?

Mallory is a tour guide for the haunted House Saphir, the home of Bastien Le Bleu, a man who murdered several of his wives over a century ago. She’s also a con artist, along with her sister Anais, and together they run their family shop of fake magical treasures. During one of her tours, a young man named Armand, claiming to be a descendant of Le Bleu, asks for Mallory’s help in ridding his family mansion of Le Bleu’s evil ghost. Mallory and Anais are barely scraping by, so she happily takes Armand up on his generous offer to pay her for her assistance, thinking it will be easy money. Mallory soon learns that she’s in over her head and she’s put herself and Anais in danger.

Likes/dislikes: The charming banter between Mallory and Armand is a lot of fun. The spooky setting is a perfect backdrop for the storyline. I enjoyed the mystery and the main characters, Mallory, Armand and Anais.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG for 7 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence and bloody death.
Ethnicity: Mixed and the main characters fall to white.

Arcana Academy, Book 1, by Elise Kova

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Unique take on magical cards!

Enemies to lovers!

Clara has been in prison for creating tarot cards, which is illegal for anyone not at the Arcana Academy. When Prince Kaelis discovers that Clara’s sister Arina gave her the tools to ink the cards, Clara worries for Ariana’s safety. She escapes from prison to warn Arina at the academy, only to have to be rescued from the water when she passes out. Clara wakes up and discovers she’s now inside the academy and is shocked when Kaelis tells of his plans for her to become his bride.

Clara now has to take the challenge of the Chalice, choose one of three pieces of her future, and fight it. If she wins, she’ll become an academy student. If she loses, she’ll be branded and sent to the mill to work until a hard death takes her.

When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven

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Pure manipulation!

Seven teens are chosen for the opportunity to be taught writing by the famous author Meredith Graffam. They arrive at Moss, not having a clue of what to expect. Meredith Graffam seems to be excited to bestow her knowledge on these young minds. She also seems a bit eccentric. As the term goes on, Meredith expects crazier and more dangerous acts of daredevil behavior from her students and she kicks out the ones she doesn’t want, one at a time, until four are left. Only one student will be chosen at the end of the competition. The four can help each other survive or sacrifice each other to win.

Likes/dislikes: The story contains some profound statements from Arlo, the teenage boy main character. Wonderful writing advice given to the students by the teacher is dropped throughout the story. I was pulled into the mystery and suspense and I was rooting for the students the whole time.

Mature content: PG-13 on-page, vaguely detailed sex and teen drinking
Language: R for 92 swears and 54 f-words
Violence: PG-13 death and bloody violence
Ethnicity: mixed

The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle, Book 1 of The City of Fantome series

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Is lightfire legend or truth?

In Fantome, Shade magic rules all. Daggers use Shade to destroy and rule. Cloaks use Shade to protect and steal. When a man kills Sera’s mother and burns down their home, she runs to the only place she’s been told to go if she’s in danger, the Cloaks guild in the city of Fantome. Sera’s mother told her to flee to the Cloaks if anything ever happened to her and she was no longer able to protect Sera. Sera’s sure a Dagger killed her mother and set their house on fire, destroying everything, and she swears to seek revenge. Monsters with unknown origins are taking over Fantome and no one knows where they came from or how to get rid of them. Sera’s mother left her a teardrop charm on a necklace and Sera thinks it’s only a token until it explodes into light and saves her life when a monster corners her. Could her mother’s gift be the answer to all?

Likes/dislikes: The twists are so good! My library patrons will love the enemies to lovers theme, with the charming and cute flirting that goes along with it. I love the mystery behind the whole story. Sera has spunk and perseverance. The interesting legend and backstory are fun to dive into.
Mature Content: PG-13 for petting.
Language: R for 153 swears, 35 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence and deaths.
Ethnicity: Sera is white. Sera’s friends: Val has brown skin, Theo has golden brown skin, and Bibi has pale skin. The opponent Dagger, Ransom, has olive skin.

The Party by Natasha Preston

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Who’s next?

A group of teens plan a weekend adventure at the family castle of twins, Allegra and Fergus. They keep it a secret from their parents because it’s meant to be a party with no chaperones. Protestors want the development to stop in the area and seem to have vandalized the castle but not all of the graffiti seems to be about the development. The teens are excited to have a weekend without supervision. When one of them gets hurt, they try to blow it off. When more violent things happen, they can’t ignore the fact that they’re in danger and they wish they had help to save them from the party.

Likes/dislikes: The author did a good job of creating an ominous setting in the castle. I enjoyed the twists and the mystery. The last sentence of the book is a great ending!
Mature content: PG-13 for kissing and teen drinking
Language: R for 155 swears, 6 f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: mixed

The Queen’s Hidden Legacy (Prequel to the River Kelpies series) by Shonna Slayton

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How do you know who can be trusted?

The Queen has given the fairy Morag a huge job: save her twin babies from the danger arising from the battle with the kelpies. Some of the kingdom believes that the baby prince and princess should be sacrificed to the kelpies so the battle will cease. The Queen is terrified this or something else will happen to her babies. She’s dying from a lung disease and knows she won’t be alive much longer. She’s relying on Morag to get her babies to safety and out of the kingdom. The Queen also wants this task to be done secretly by Morag alone. Morag has an injured wing and knows she can’t accomplish this without help. She’s relying on her instincts to know who she can trust without putting the babies in danger.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed this prequel to Rise of the Kelpies. The main character, Morag, and the queen both show great strength and bravery. Shonna Slayton is an author who writes clean reads, which is appreciated.
Mature content: G
Language: G
Violence: PG for kidnapping and danger.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

Steel & Spellfire by Laura Weymouth

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Magic, murder and mystery!

Pandora’s childhood was taken from her by a patron that warped her powers into an extremely and extraordinary strength that made her dangerous. Her patron always kept their identity secret and Pandora is determined to discover who the person is who changed her power. Meanwhile, someone with similar powers to Pandora’s is murdering young women the same age as her. Once Pandora arrives at court, she meets a guard named Beacon and immediately feels a connection with him. Pandora is determined to solve the mystery of the murderer and her patron but she will struggle to do it alone and Beacon will struggle with loyalty and doing the right thing.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the prose. Beacon fell for Pandora a bit too quickly. Pandora’s friend Winifred is charming and fun. The rivalry between Pandora and Imogen entertains and surprises.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG for 13 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG for bloody gunshot wound
Ethnicity: Falls to white.

The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard

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Excellent spooky read!

Theo swerves to miss raccoons crossing the road. He stops to make sure the raccoons are fine but he is shaken by what he discovers. Freddie is logical and strives to find facts in all situations and when a dead man is found, she knows there’s an easy explanation and that the curse hanging over her community for centuries isn’t real. Theo and Freddie cross paths when Freddie calls the police after she hears screams and unknowingly alerts the police to a rival school teen party in the woods. She instantly becomes her school’s hero and hated by the rivals. Weird events keep happening that can’t be explained away and Theo and Freddie get completely wrapped up in the danger and the curse!

Likes/dislikes: An ominous poem at the beginning of the book lends to the creepy setting. Humor, charm, cleverness, strong friendship and the spooky vibe made this book fun to read and it’s a perfect YA book for getting into the Halloween spirit. I love the chemistry between Freddie and Theo. They’re from rival schools and have a rollercoaster relationship.
Mature content: PG-13 for fervent kissing, mention of teens smoking and drinking.
Language: R for 78 swears, (mostly hell and god) and 7 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: predominantly white with side characters having different shades of brown skin and a Black girl.

The Blood Phoenix (Fall of the Dragon book 2) by Amber Chen

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Unique use of technology in a fantasy world!

Ying and her fellow engineering competitors are called back together to help the kingdom fight off the pirates and stop the deadly attacks that are occurring. Ying and Ye-Yang haven’t spoken and they both continue to have feelings for each other. Ying isn’t sure if she can get over his past deception. Ying enjoys working with her engineer friends and wants to stop the pirates from killing anyone else. She discovers there’s more to the attacks and the Blood Phoenix than the rulers think and it puts her friends and loved ones in terrible danger.

Likes/dislikes: I like how the friends from the engineering competition are brought together to help the kingdom fight off the pirates. The comrades work well together. The relationship between Ye-Yang and Ying is topsy turvy and adds to storyline. I love how much Ying and her sister Nian care about each other.
Mature content: PG for urgent kissing, drinking.
Language: PG-13 for 18 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Oriental with pearl skin and bronze skin mentioned.

Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon Book 1) by Amber Chen

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Can trust stay unbroken?

Ying witnessed her father’s murder and she’ll do anything and everything to avenge his death. She also wants to be an engineer like her father. She disguises herself as a boy and enters the engineering competition in the capital. Her sponsor ends up being a prince and she’s completely surprised by this. When Ying becomes part of the competition, she’s also thrown into politics and danger. Will she stay her course and avenge her father?

Likes/dislikes: The names of the royals were confusing at first. I like the dynamics between Ying and Ye-yang. The science fiction and engineering aspects were fun and added an extra element to the story.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 17 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: based on historical Oriental culture.