Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

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Pirate adventure with a touch of sci-fi!
Thanks to Edelweiss, NetGalley and Razorbill for the opportunity to read and review Seafire by Natalie C. Parker!
Caledonia sails with her mother, brother and close comrades until they are attacked. Caledonia and Pisces, her shipmate, are the only ones that are left behind. Caledonia blames herself for the fatal attack and kidnappings because an enemy Bullet, one of Aric’s men, distracted her by pretending to be kind, then he stabbed her. The rest of the crew are either dead or enslaved. The story moves four years ahead and Caledonia and Pisces have gathered a new crew for her mother’s rebuilt ship. They still thirst for vengeance. An enemy, Oran, is captured after saving Pisces’ life and he states that he knows where Caledonia’s and Pisces’ brothers are and that they’re still alive. He’s giving them help and information for the brothers’ rescue. The crew gets out of some close calls because of how they help each other and Oran begins to wear down the crew’s distrust. The suspense grows to intense levels while Caledonia searches for her brother and the ending…All I can say is that I need the sequel now! 5 stars for a pirating adventure with a touch of sci-fi!

806 by Cynthia Weil

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Humorous storyline!
Thanks to NetGalley and Tanglewood Press for the opportunity to read and review 806 by Cynthia Weil! The main character, KT, discovers that her unknown father is a sperm donor and she begins the search for possible siblings and for sperm donor 806. She finds out that two of her male school mates are her siblings and they meet 806. After being happily introduced and visiting each other for a while, 806 realizes that he can’t be their father because of his blood type. Back to square one. KT turns the sperm donor card over and thinks the number could actually be 908 instead. After hunting and a few misadventures, the three siblings find their actual donor father and they discover that it was worth the wait. 3 stars for this unique storyline full of humor!

Letting Go of Gravity by Meg Leder

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Touching realistic fiction!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review Letting Go of Gravity by Meg Leder! Parker and Charlie are twins. One of them is giving the Valedictorian speech at high school graduation and the other watches from the audience, not graduating because of being held back a year in school, due to a second bout with leukemia. Parker has her future set out for her and Charlie is tired of dealing with leukemia. At the same time, Charlie seems much more confident about what he’s feeling and what he wants compared to Parker, who has uncertainties about everything. Parker crosses paths with Finn, a friend from elementary school that she lost track of. Charlie acts like he has a death wish and it’s upsetting his family and friends so much that his parents send him to a cancer therapy support group. Parker thinks that Charlie hates her and she seems to keep making the same mistakes, over and over, that make him angry. Through the turmoil of figuring out their lives and futures, Parker and Charlie surprise each other with how similar they are but different at the same time. A touching realistic fiction story with Ruby and Finn, dynamic side characters that bring an extra level of maturity to the plot and story line. 5 stars!

Cinderella’s Shoes by Shonna Slayton

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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A lovely historical fiction book!
Cinderella’s Shoes by Shonna Slayton opens as the ceremony moving the protection responsibility from Aunt Elsie to Kate is performed by Princess Kolodenko. Kate is now ward of Cinderella’s three dresses but the shoes have been lost. Kate gets the chance to travel to Europe with the royal family and teach Princess Nessa everything she knows about the dresses. Nessa has no respect for the dresses and she’s frivolous with them. After getting to Europe, Kate travels to Poland with Lidka, who Kate isn’t sure about trusting. Princess Kolodenko shares a secret about the shoes with Kate before she leaves for Poland to meet Malwinka, a descendant of one of Cinderella’s stepsisters, who supposedly has the shoes. Once Kate and Lidka reach Poland, things become frightening and magical. A lovely historical fiction book that explains much of what the story of Cinderella left out. 5 stars!

Price of Duty by Todd Strasser

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Heartbreaking, tear-jerking, gut-wrenching reality!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review Price of Duty by Todd Strasser. As the story opens, we’re thrown right into a Humvee being hit by an IED! The main character, Jake, narrates in first person point of view, alternating between the present and his active duty as a U.S. soldier. His life has completely changed since he enlisted in the military and he’s holding onto anger from seeing his comrades harmed and killed, feeling deceived by the recruiter, struggling with his own injuries and having to face being reactivated. He’s hiding his anger from everyone and he’s afraid he’ll let it slip and his family and hometown will think less of him. Price of Duty shows us what war is really about in heartbreaking, tear jerking, gut wrenching reality, 5 stars for a book that I’m definitely buying for the library collection!

Scream All Night by Derek Milman

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Scream All Night by Derek Milman tells the story of emancipated seventeen-year-old Dario, who goes back home for his elderly father’s live funeral. Within the first chapter, Dario gets an odd call from his brother Oren, receives an invitation from an old friend Hayley, attends a party/live funeral for his father, talks to his father then watches an accidental explosion, taking his father with it- all with a sad, dry, dysfunctional humor! Characters are introduced and the will is read, leaving Dario in charge of his father’s movie studio. Moldavia Studios encompasses the mansion and the property surrounding it and that’s where the movie making has taken place. The story gets stuck on how badly the studios have been losing money and Oren’s failures and psychedelic tendencies, which slow down the book tremendously and there’s really no horror involved, even though the synopsis stated otherwise. 3 stars for the imaginative setting!

In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

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Fast moving and action-packed!
In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken intensifies as the danger amps up in this third book of the Darkest Minds series. Liam’s memories are clear once again and his brother Cole continues to hide the fact that he himself is a Red. Cole doesn’t want everyone to be afraid of his powers, shun him and refuse to follow his lead. Liam, Ruby, Chubs and Zu are actually back together but their little group isn’t alone and they have to figure out how to work with the dynamics of a bigger group. The intense plot continues and more characters are introduced and brought into the action. Fast moving and action packed describe this book, 5 stars!

And I Darken by Kiersten White

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Tumultuous historical fiction!
And I Darken by Kiersten White, book one of the Conqueror’s Saga tells the story of Lada (a female version of Vlad the Impaler) and her brother Radu, as well as Mehmed, who will become a great Conqueror. Lada was born with an intense and strong personality; this is the only way to catch the attention of her father. The only time she’s kind or shows weakness is in helping her younger brother. Their father wakes them before dawn and takes them to a different ruler’s home for protection, but he ends up leaving his children to receive an education. This education consists of cruelty along with their lessons. As Lada and her brother Radu grow, they each find their particular talents and tend to go their separate ways. Lada is outspoken, boisterous and skillful in fighting and Radu is quiet and personable and enjoys religion. I learned more about Islam because of this book and my appreciation of Islamic beliefs grew. The author used the historical information that she could find on two great leaders- Vlad the Impaler and Mehmed the Conqueror- to create this interesting series of intrigue, action and danger. I love when authors explain their process of creating their books and share the research they discovered. Kiersten White lists historical books of information on her subjects and also tells readers why she chose to make Vlad the Impaler a female character- Lada. Lada adds depth, drama, love, loyalty and intensity to the story. And I Darken is the beginning of the turmoil of The Conqueror’s Saga, 4 stars!

Legend of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy

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Legend of Me by Rebekah L. Purdy is a twist on a beloved fairy tale.
The prologue grabbed me with shock and fright and built my interest in the book, even more than the synopsis already had. Brielle lives with her grandmother, who’s a healer and is training Brielle to be a healer also. A few deaths have occurred and the victims have been horribly mutilated. Brielle has been having dreams about gruesome murders and when she discovers that those same victims actually have been killed, she begins to suspect that her dreams are visions. Knights have come to capture the beast that’s been killing people and the villagers are sure that the knights can rid them of this horrible beast. In the meantime, Raul (a wanderer) and Kenrick (a knight) show their feelings for Brielle and she reciprocates their feelings without even realizing and then she wonders how she can care for both of them. The tale twists and turns and grows as everything comes to light. An interesting play on a beauty and the beast type story, 4 stars!

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas is a book full of celebration and healing. Fun and lighthearted sums up the majority of this book, with the Solstice celebration and its traditions and the jovial manner of the way the Night Court members treat one another. I laughed at the snowball fight scene because I thought it was adorable and funny! Backstories are shared, which helps us understand the characters at a deeper level, with a sneak peek of the next book included at the end. 5 stars for this fun addition to A Court of Thorns and Roses series!