Atlantis Reborn by Gloria Craw

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Atlantis Reborn by Gloria Craw! Alison becomes clan chief and makes choices that change her life. Each book in this series has Alison handling a different life changing event. Atlantis Reborn, the third book of the Atlantis rising series, gives Alison much more than one change to her life. She’s matured and knows everything about her past, her parents and her heritage. She gains loyal friends, becomes stronger and enjoys her relationship with Ian. Atlantis reborn is the book of this series with the most action, humor and romance. The ending is also perfect. 5 stars for an entertaining fantasy read!

Atlantis Quest by Gloria Craw

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Atlantis Quest by Gloria Craw! Alison has now learned about her heritage from her biological mother and also about her abilities and now she’s expected to rescue her enemy from a kidnapping. She travels to a ski resort and spies on the Truss family to find Nikki and any news about her kidnapping. Alison meets and stays with a distant relative, Theron. He tells her about her father’s lineage and the story of how she was left with humans. Alison is given even more dangerous tasks to perform and help her people. Theron’s gruff demeanor mellows as his familial relationship with Alison grows. They are good for each other. This second book of the Atlantis trilogy amps up the dangers, action and intensity of Alison’s world while her responsibilities grow. 5 stars for this interesting fantasy adventure!

Atlantis Rising by Gloria Craw

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Atlantis Rising by Gloria Craw! Alison works hard to not get noticed by anyone because she wants to blend in and stay invisible. Her adoptive parents love her tremendously and treat her well. She meets new students, Ian and Brandy, who start attending her school and, despite her best efforts, they become her friends. When she was younger, a stranger recognized her abilities and warned her to keep them secret. He also told Alison that she’s an Atlantis descendant like he is. He noticed her when she used her thought transference ability while playing, which means she can give other people thoughts and then they follow through with them. For example, if someone shows interest in her, she makes them think she’s boring and to not pay any attention to her. She fell and hit her head at school and is now having a difficult time using her transference ability. She discovers that Ian and Brandy are children of Atlantis also and they fill her in on her past and how she is being hunted by the man who killed her biological mother. Complex story and interesting characters make Atlantis Rising a great fantasy read; 5 stars!

Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine! Gris is a shape-shifting gargoyle called a Watcher. He travels to Hidden creek to reside in his relatives’ extra house. He meets Piper while she is searching for what attacked and killed her dog, Jester. For some reason, Hidden Creek is full of fiends and that’s why Gris has been called to live there. Gris becomes intrigued with Piper and they start a friendship and try to solve the mystery of Jester’s death and why there are numerous fiends in Hidden Creek. Piper deals with a specific type of obsessive compulsive disorder and it interested me because of how she handles it in her daily life. The author discusses OCD at the end of the book and opens up with her own experiences of dealing with the constraints and struggles that go along with it. 5 stars for a fun supernatural read for young adults and for the advice and wisdom offered by the author!

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an arc of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the opportunity to read and review Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton! The list of characters at the beginning of the book helped refresh my memory of the first book in this series, Rebel of the Sands.
The introduction summarized the past events also and brought me up to speed. Rebellion and war are center stage in the middle of a bundle of tumultuous relationships. Amani gets herself captured so she can rescue other rebels, willing to sacrifice herself if needed. This story is filled with death defying actions and more disguises than I can keep track of, all pulled together seamlessly to strengthen the rebellious plot. Spies, intrigue and harems in the desert setting build a tale of a dangerous Sultan and his kingdom and several heirs to his throne. The tension grows in this sequel and some lives are lost while some are spared. The surprise ending of this sequel, full of turmoil and deception, leaves me anxiously awaiting the third book. 5 stars for an action packed adventure fantasy!

Bull by David Elliott

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I voluntarily read and reviewed Bull by David Elliott. Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review this book! Bull is a retelling of the myth, “Theseus and the Minotaur”. The author makes the characters as real and relevant as possible and broadens the story to explain more of Asterion’s life from birth to childhood to the complete transformation of his character and sanity and all of this is written in poetic form and in modern language that makes it easily understandable. 4.5 stars!

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

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I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for the opportunity to read and review A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge. A Face Like Glass is a strange story of a lost girl in a world where people are taught expressions or “faces” by Facesmiths. This girl, Neverfell, was given a mask to cover her face because it’s different. She’s brought to society and lives with a family while she learns how to act and react when around others. This is an odd story full of symbolism of human nature and society. The epilogue helps the story make a bit more sense, but the oddities and ramblings still overpower the story. The writing is well done but the story is not for me, too stretched and too vague; 3 stars.

Tattoo by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Tattoo by Jennifer Lynn Barnes features four friends on an adventure together. Delia, Annabelle and Zo are friends with the main character, Bailey. Bailey has a crush on Kane Lawson, which is portrayed honestly and in an awkwardly cute way. We’ve all had similar crush experiences;). The four friends are shopping at the mall and purchase fun accessories to match their personalities. Bailey chooses temporary tattoos because she can’t decide on anything else. The tattoo set contains four temporary tattoos, one for each friend. Each girl’s item and tattoo gives them unique powers, which they realize eventually. These powers come in handy when they have to save their classmates from an evil mythological character. Tattoo is a fun fantasy with the great bond of loyal friends; 4 stars!

The Things They’ve Taken by Katie McElhenney

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review The Things They’ve Taken by Katie McElhenney! Lo, short for Delores, needs help retrieving her mother from a burning pentagram that pulled her through the floor. Shaw, a tracker, is willing to help her for fifteen thousand dollars in cash. He brings his large dog, Mange, along for the journey. They visit a seer at a nursing home and then every other being they can find to get guidance from. Lo feels like she is going in circles and not accomplishing anything that she has set out to do in her quest to rescue her mother. The variety of characters is fun and I enjoy Lo’s sense of humor and snarky comments. Shaw, in all his mystery, is intriguing and interesting and I want to get to know him better. The book ends as though there is a sequel planned and I look forward to reading it. The Things They’ve Taken is a mix of supernatural, fantasy, mythology, adventure and humor. Fun and enjoyable and worthy of a 5 star rating!

The Wishing Heart by J.C. Welker

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Wishing Heart by J.C. Welker! As the story opens, Rebel is breaking into a rich London apartment. She thinks of herself as a modern day Robin Hood, but she keeps the loot for herself so she can make wishes. She’s an orphan living in a dreary institute run by an unkind matron and needs all the happiness she can find. She steals a golden vase, not realizing that it’s actually a vessel holding a jinni named Anjeline. Rebel has a heart condition and she ventures on a journey to free Anjeline and repair her own heart. Along the way, they run into a variety of characters and creatures, some friendly and some dangerous. Rebel learns about her parentage and all of its mysteries. This story brings fantasy, mythology, supernatural and LGBT together tastefully and smoothly. The author, J. C. Welker, has a goal, “…to work toward giving a voice to LGBTQ stories, while facing magic and monsters along the way. “. 4 stars for a job well done!