The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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Another great mystery read from Holly Jackson!

Rachel Price, mother of 18yo Bel, has been missing for over sixteen years. Bel’s father needs money to care for his elderly father, so he decides to participate in a documentary about the disappearance of his wife, Rachel Price. Bel doesn’t want to rehash everything over and over again but she wants to help her dad. She wonders if the documentary will help find her mom by rekindling the investigation. Also, Bel can’t shake the thought that her mom abandoned her all those years ago and that she just might be alive somewhere. The documentary is just the beginning of the chaos that’s to come.

Likes/dislikes: I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The character development was interesting and the author showed Bel’s coping mechanisms of cruelty and shoplifting small items as a way to deal with the abandonment she’s had in her lifetime. The documentary idea was great as it helped show the changes in the family and Bel’s perspective of the situation.

Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 53 swears and 121 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for assault.
Ethnicity: predominantly white with mention of a brown skin background character.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

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Female empowerment in this tale of magic.

16yo Deka is worried that her blood is impure in a society that shuns those that are different. The village holds a ritual to know if a person is impure or not and it’s time for Deka’s participation. She lives alone with her weakened father who had an illness a few months ago; the illness that killed her mother at the same time. When her true nature shows itself while she’s protecting her village, everyone turns on her thinking she’s a demon. An emperor’s helper saves her and takes her to the capital to receive training to fight off death shrieks who wreak havoc on villages. Deka will discover more than her fate and the truth of who she is.

Likes/dislikes: I love the cover of this book. Deka’s strength is inspiring. Deka and Keita have a cute romance.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sexual assault.
Language: PG-13 for 23 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Deka has dark skin and her father is pale with blonde hair. The Emperor has bluish black skin. People with dark brown skin, golden skin, pink skin, and every shade from deep brown to eggshell are mentioned.

Snowglobe by Soyoung Park

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Unique dystopian novel! 3.5 out of 5 stars.

17yo Jeon lives with her twin brother, mother, and grandmother in the extremely harsh environment surrounding Snowglobe. The main job for residents is producing power by running on giant hamster wheels for ten hours each day. Jeon is asked to leave her home and family to be a replacement for the Snowglobe star Goh Haeri. Jeon is thrilled because this means her family will be taken care of and her mother will no longer have to work but can stay home with grandmother instead. Jeon arrives in Snowglobe excited and happy but things aren’t adding up and when she discovers secret passages by accident, her existence is threatened.

Likes/dislikes: Strange concept that’s hard to grasp and become engrossed in. I enjoyed the mystery behind Goh Haeri. The story has an interesting and unique concept.
Mature content: PG-13 for underage drinking.
Language: R for 49 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG for death.
Ethnicity: predominantly Korean

Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury

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Persephone and Hades retelling!

17yo Corey discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend Bree. This devastates her and she feels like they’ve been laughing at her behind her back the whole time. Corey is so hurt and angry that she wishes Bree would die and soon after, Bree drowns. Now Corey regrets her wish and wants Bree and their friendship back. When Corey thinks she sees Bree and chases after her, she falls into the Underworld and her life is turned inside out.

Likes/dislikes: I didn’t like Ali, the boyfriend, because of his selfishness. The character development is well done. Fantastic world building.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex and underage drinking.
Language: R for 25 swears and 21 f-words.
Violence: PG for hitting.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

Royal Blood by Aimee Carter

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Royalty, mystery and scandal in the beginning of this YA series!

17yo Evangeline (Evan) is the illegitimate American daughter of the British king and has been kept out of the public eye her entire life so Britain royals don’t suffer from a scandal. She has bounced around to several boarding schools since her mom was diagnosed with fragile mental health and her grandmother (her only other relative) passed away. When Evan gets in trouble, a British royal advisor swoops in to whisk her away to the Windsor Castle in London for her protection but the royal family is irate that she’s in London, let alone the palace. Evan tries to see the situation from their perspective and even though she’s kind and not to blame for her father’s actions, her stepmother and half sister are cruel to her. She just wants to make it to her eighteenth birthday so she can be on her own and get away from the disdain. As much as Evan tries to blend in and please the royal family, things spiral when a death occurs.

Likes/dislikes: The storyline is interesting. I enjoyed the intense parts. Great characters. Great quote from Queen Victoria.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Violence: PG-13 for attempted sexual assault.
Language: R for 50 swears and no f-words.
Ethnicity: Predominantly white. Gia has dark skin. Louis is Black.

House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

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Sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows!

Verity is tired of staying home at the Highmoor estate and when she receives an invitation to paint portraits for a family in Bloem, she’s absolutely thrilled. Her older sister and caregiver adamantly denies Verity any hope of leaving. This suffocates Verity and when she asks Camille why she’s denying her any hope of freedom and adventure, Camille confides that Verity talks to ghosts everywhere they go, no one else can see them and this makes her and the family look crazy. Verity denies this accusation until proven wrong when told her nanny has been dead for twelve years and Verity had no idea because she talks to her and receives help from her every day. When Verity sneaks away in the night, she feels truly alone for the first time in her life and what awaits her is beyond anything she can imagine.

Likes/dislikes: I love the author’s writing style. The character development was fun to read. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the family in Bloem.
Language: PG-13 for 12 swears, no f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for a passionate kiss and implied sex.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with copper skin; red hair, white skin and freckles; golden brown skin; chestnut skin and a white older man.

Borrow My Heart by Kasie West

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Pets, D&D, and real life!
17yo Wren is waiting for her friend Kamala to finish her shift at the coffee shop when Asher and Dale arrive to meet a girl that Dale assumes is catfishing Asher. Dale wants to document Asher’s disappointment when the girl doesn’t show up but Wren steps in and pretends she’s the girl that Asher is waiting for, in hopes of sparing him the humiliation. Wren and Asher hit it off and she actually starts to like him. He shows up later at the animal shelter where she works and the dog that hates everyone except Wren ends up liking Asher too. The charade keeps going until Wren is afraid to tell Asher the truth because she likes him and it’s mutual.
Likes/dislikes: An absolute delightfully fun read. I like how Wren had to deal with real life issues because of her mom abandoning them when she was ten and having to work with trust issues by learning to set up healthy, realistic boundaries. Bean is the funniest dog.
Language: G for no swears.
Mature Content: PG for kissing.
Violence: none
Ethnicity: Asher is white, Kamala is Indian, Wren is white.

The Twin by Natasha Preston

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An evenly paced YA thriller!

Iris and Ivy are twins with divorced parents. Iris has lived with the mom and Ivy with the Dad for quite a few years. Since their mom died in an accident, Iris now lives with Ivy and their dad. The twins haven’t been close since they were separated and it’s awkward now that they’ve been forced together again. Iris refuses to talk about their mom or go clean up her belongings and clear out the home. Ivy invites Iris to hang out with her but Iris seems to always have plans already set up and usually with Ivy’s friends but excluding Ivy. Iris keeps pushing herself into Ivy’s life, every aspect of it, to the point where she’s driving Ivy mad. Ivy meets with a past friend of Iris’s and discovers that there’s something sinister about Iris and danger is surrounding Ivy. An evenly paced young adult thriller!

The Island by Natasha Preston

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A deceptive invitation!

Teen influencers arrive on an island after being invited for a fun-filled weekend to post online reviews and build excitement for the upcoming opening. The island is an amusement park and resort all in one. The six influencers have a variety of online posts and followers. Before they can enjoy much of the island, the killing starts. One by one, people are being chased and killed. Those who remain must work together to outsmart the killer and survive until help arrives.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the premise of inviting influencers to review and build hype about a new place. The mystery was fun and suspenseful. I liked learning about each character’s background.
Language: R for 121 swears, no f-bombs.
Mature Content: none other than the violence.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: mixed

Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian

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The intrigue twists,turns and never stops!

Daphne and Beatriz both receive confirmation of Sophronia’s death. Violie, Sophronia’s maid and unbeknownst spy of Empress Margareaux, helps Leopold escape to safety as she promised Sophronia she would. They meet up with Ambrose and Lord Savelle, who Beatriz freed from prison and Ambrose took on his boat to safety. At the wedding ceremony for Daphne and Bairre, an explosion occurs that kills the Empyria helping the king and now Bairre’s mother becomes the new Empyria. Beatriz and Pasquale end up in Empress Margareaux’s palace while Violie and Leopold are spying on Daphne in Bairre’s kingdom. The four work together to stop the Empress from taking over the continent and killing them all. Beatriz is convinced that their mother, Empress Margareaux, planned to kill all three of her daughters the minute she secured the kingdoms they infiltrated and now she’s trying to convince Daphne of their mother’s betrayal. The intrigue twists, turns and never stops, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the intensity which is stronger than in the first book of this series. The intrigue never ends and it twists and turns as characters change their planned actions. The character variety is entertaining.
Ethnicity: predominantly white
Language: PG-13 for 10 swears, no f-bombs
Mature content: PG for kissing, lgbtq side character
Vilence: PG-13 for bloody stabbings, imprisonment, death by an arrow to the neck, poisoning