The Killing Rules by Bree Despain

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Twisty! A perfect October read!

Harper enjoys most parts of her life. She’s a cheerleader and has good friends but she suffers from the Blood Bound curse which changes her, every three months, into a killing monster. Harper uses this curse to rid the world of evil, harmful people but she hates that she ends people’s lives and struggles with constant guilt. Harper really likes Grayson and the feeling is mutual but her Nana insists she stay away from him, as part of the set of rules to keep Harper safe from hunters and to keep her curse a secret. Grayson’s father was Harper’s first victim but his death is a mystery to Grayson. He’s actively investigating his father’s death and he keeps getting closer and closer to the truth.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the humor, mystery, and character development! Harper’s internal struggle gave her character depth and maturity. The twists were great and the story kept me hooked!
Language: R for 123 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG for passionate kiss.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths and child abuse.
Ethnicity: Mixed.

Gingerbread Bones by Lindsay Lovise

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A spooky Hansel and Gretel remix!

A group of eleven delinquent teens is sent to a remote area to learn survival skills and improve their behavior. A counselor, psychologist and two cameramen accompany them to keep them safe and film the transformation to make a documentary for an influencer. The influencer is Ashley, the toxic stepmother of Georgie and Hamish. Georgie and Hamish are in the group and know they have to rely on each other to get through the camp together because they are cut off from the rest of the world, unplugged. Soon the adults go missing and strange things start to happen. When they discover a dismembered, bloody hand of one of the supervising adults, they wonder if any of them will survive?

Likes/dislikes: The Hansel and Gretel retelling makes the tale even creepier. Great character development. The characters have different but interesting backgrounds. I appreciate the content warning before the story begins. Social media posts or emails start each chapter, giving readers information and insight to what’s happening elsewhere.

Language: R for 228 swears and 111 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for a passionate kiss.
Violence: PG-13 Bloody injuries and off-page stabbing death.
Ethnicity: Ava is Korean American. Talia has frizzy hair and freckles. Madison has brown skin. Alicia is white. Georgie and Hamish are white. One of the cameramen is Latino.

Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls by Cynthia Murphy

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Serial killer or curse?

Fliss and Izzy are attending an artist retreat to delve deeper into their personal interests. They meet other teens who love different types of artistic expression and enjoy the social interaction until everything comes to a halt, when a murder occurs. Immediately, Fliss uses her sleuthing skills to find the suspect and to understand the connection between now and the 1911 murders that revolved around four paintings the killer created to immortalize his victims. He also created a self portrait that shows up at an estate sale after being lost for decades. Rumors about a curse being released when the painting was found are rampant and causing people to panic. Will Fliss be able to stop the murders before history repeats itself?

Likes/dislikes: Such a fascinating premise! I enjoyed this mystery and I didn’t want the book to end. The writing and background building pulled me in and made this story extremely interesting! Fliss is a natural detective and her friendship with Izzy balances them both out. The debate over whether or not the painting is cursed added a nice touch of supernatural spookiness.

Language: R for 53 swears (god, damn, hell) and 2 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for teens smoking joints and being drugged unknowingly in their drinks.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Mixed ethnicity includes white, Irish, British-Korean, and Italian. Noah has olive skin and Fliss is white.

The Silenced by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

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I could not put this book down!

Hazel feels like a loner in her school. She’s placed with Becca and her popular friends for a group homework assignment. They decide to research the local condemned school for troubled teens that closed about thirty years ago when it caught on fire; the school is supposedly haunted. Becca, Amber and Simon play a prank on Hazel and then she falls off a roof and breaks her arm. Before she fell, she heard whispers and followed them out onto the roof. Once Hazel is home, she feels different and notices that she’s acting strangely and doesn’t like the same colors or foods that she did before the visit to the school. She also feels angry all the time. Hazel decides to investigate the history of the school and what she finds shakes her to the core.

Likes/dislikes: I was pulled right into the story and didn’t want to put it down. I love the character development and Hazel’s, Quint’s, and Deidre’s stories. Hazel’s life is hopeful, Quint deals with abuse from his family and Deidre’s life is tragic. I appreciate the content warnings the author put in the front of the book. I enjoyed the added supernatural elements tremendously. The author provides her research notes about the real schools for troubled teens that she based this story on.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 40 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for physical and emotional abuse by parent and at the school for troubled teens. Death
Ethnicity: Hazel is from Puerto Rican and Polish descent, Becca and Quint are white. Amber is half Thai and half white. Simon is half Jewish and half Afro Latino. Varying ethnicities were at the school for troubled teens.

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

Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

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Spooky and mysterious!

Faith feels at home at Ellery West. She grew up in the Philippines and moved to the island school of magic for her high school years. She loves the school and the island until she ventures into the forest with Sydney but walks out alone after something takes Sydney’s life. Immediately, Faith is pushed into the group of exiled students who are on the verge of losing their magic if they make another misstep. Her new group of friends, known as the Red Stripes, band together and take care of each other. They also want to help Faith find out what took Sydney’s life and put a stop to the continued deaths. They discover a deep, dark secret that, when exposed, will change everything.

Likes/dislikes: I love how the Red Stripes care about each other and how they help each other. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery behind the story. This book has several interesting characters.
Mature content: PG mention of drugs
Language: R for 28 swears, 5 f-words.
Violence: PG for deaths.
Ethnicity: mixed.