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.

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.

Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

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Uniquely fun and twisty!

Sivon loves her twin sister best friends, Vivi and Corah, who have helped her prepare to attend the institute to learn about her soul through the kirling process. Now it’s Sivon’s turn to attend the kirling and she arrives at the institute full of anxiety. When her soul identity is revealed after her kirling, Sivon has a new world of possibilities opened up to her. Vivi and Corah are there to support her every step of the way. Her mom has always told Sivon she’s hard to read and Sivon discovers why, as she learns more about herself and her shocking experiences from her past lives.

Likes/dislikes: The more I read this book, the more I wanted to read. Unique story! More complex than I thought it would be when I picked up the book.
Mature content: PG-13 for passionate kissing.
Language: R for 123 swears, 40 f-words.
Violence: PG for gunshot wound and fighting.
Ethnicity: Sivon has bronze skin two shades lighter than her mother’s terracotta skin.
Janus, the prime minister’s nephew, has bronze skin. Twins and Sivon’s best friends, Vivi and Corah, have russet-toned skin. Windrose, the counselor, has warm brown skin. Peach skin and ebony skin are also mentioned.

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.

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le

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Enemies to lovers clean romance!

Nikha is a heartsooth, a person with abilities to heal themselves and others. When she finishes healing a person as requested, the man turns her in and calls the Butchers. They cage her and take bids from buyers that visit her cage. She’s sold to a young woman who offers a huge amount of money for Nikha, Mimi Congmi. They travel to the Congmi manor where Nikha is asked to heal Hendon, the only witness to Mimi’s father’s death. Mimi and her brother believe he was murdered. When Nikha heals Hendon, the information he offers throws them all into a whirlwind of danger and deception.

Likes/dislikes: The mystery grabbed my full attention. The world building and character development brought the story to life. I enjoyed learning about Nikha’s background.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 17 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence- stabbing, gunshot wounds.
Ethnicity: Nikha has golden brown skin. Nikha’s grandmother has skin a shade darker than hers. The Congmi family has pale, rosy skin.

The Deathly Grimm

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Conclusion to the Forest Grimm twisted fairytale duology!

Clara and Axel follow a group of sisters in a trance as they’re being called into the cursed forest. Clara and Axel want to save the sisters from the curse which will cause them to go mad or die. As they follow them, Clara meets Harlan, an enchanted frog, and she frees him with a kiss that turns him back into his human form. Harlan helps Clara have visions which give her clues to the person who murdered a Grimm Hollow villager, causing the curse. Clara and Axel sift through the clues to discover the murderer, which will ultimately break the curse on their village and they need all the help they can get. Harlan seems to be helpful but can he be trusted?

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed how the author incorporated fairytales into the story and how she twisted them a bit. I liked unraveling the mystery behind the curse and how the author used Clara’s incomplete visions to
create uncertainty about the suspects. Axel is still so kind and caring but he also shows insecurities and frustration.
Mature content: PG-13 for kissing.
Language: PG for 2 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence.
Ethnicity: Clara and Henni have pale skin and Axel has tawny skin. Lila has bronze skin.

The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman

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Will the killer be found?

At the Meadowbrook Boarding School, Amy is enjoying the senior week before the underclasses arrive on campus. She’s looking forward to spending time with her best friend Sarah and her boyfriend Joseph, who attends school in town. After a party the night before, Amy wakes up and knocks on Sarah’s door. When there’s no answer, Amy opens up the door to find Sarah and her boyfriend Ryan dead in a bloody bed. The school is shocked to the core and every student is terrified that they’re going to be the next victim. Amy is moved to room with Liz, the school newspaper journalist, who has high ambitions for reporting the news, on and off campus. Will the killer be found? Will the killer be stopped?

Likes/dislikes: I like how the characters each found a true friend when they didn’t expect to at all. It just shows that you never know where you’ll find a friend. Liz meets her journalistic hero and she learns quite a lot from her. Great character development.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex and underage drinking.
Language: R for 66 swears and 19 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Jewish, Black, White are all mentioned.

Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake

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Heroes and Villains!

After losing her hero, Reed has thrown herself head first into serving the Aristene. She has sent three heroes to their glorious death in less than a year. When her fellow Aristene, Lyonene, is called to help a hero, she begs Reed to take her place. Lyonene wants to stay with her hero, prince, and husband Alsander. What Reed and Lyonene don’t know is how much this one decision will change their lives.

Likes/dislikes: I liked the dynamic between Reed, her mentor, her hero and her fellow Aristene. This series will have more than two books. The story doesn’t end on a cliffhanger but it left me wanting to know what’s to come.
Mature content: PG-13 for off page sex and implied sex, off page.
Language: PG-13 for 15 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for attempted sexual assault, off page murder, bloody violence and bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: white, tan, and olive skintones are mentioned.

One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen

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Intense historical fiction!

Atlas and his parents love to climb mountains together. When his mother gets sick, the doctors suggest taking her to stay with grandparents who live in Utah because the air is dry and should help her. When Atlas and his father leave to climb King’s Peak, he says a casual goodbye to his mother, not realizing that will be the last time he speaks to her because she dies while they are away. Atlas and his father throw themselves into mountain climbing after that and end up in Nepal to climb Mt. Everest. They join a team set to reach the unreachable, the Summit of Mt. Everest. Atlas will face the fight of his live and must make the toughest of choices.

Likes/dislikes: I like how the author includes a definition at the beginning of each chapter. The setting is extremely interesting with the threat of World War II hanging over the story. The characters are believable.
Mature content: G
Language: G for 0 swears.
Violence: G
Ethnicity: predominantly white