The Wishing Heart by J.C. Welker

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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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!

The Blood Orchid by Claire Warner

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Blood Orchid by Claire Warner has Melissa and Justin opening the story with the ending events of The Black Lotus. Marcus searches for and finds Melissa after discovering the death of their mother. He fights for her to go back home with him and then finally realizes that she can’t and is now dealing with the same curse as Justin. This book is genre bending and includes historical fiction plus all the mystery, suspense and paranormal fun of The Black Lotus, the first book in the Night Flower series. 4 stars for this supernatural young adult book with a touch of romance!

The Black Lotus by Claire Warner

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
The Black Lotus by Claire Warner is the first book in the Night Flower Series.  The opening of the book pulled me into the story with danger and intrigue. Melissa is experiencing memory loss and seems to have been kidnapped and she’s overhearing two people discuss her while they think she’s unconscious. She gradually recalls her circumstances and how she came to be in her current state. Then, the story jumps back to five months earlier. Melissa is attending her first social outing as a demure debutante. She meets all types of men, one she can’t get out of her mind, even though she’s been warned away from him, and has an altercation with another man who is extremely pushy. Her night didn’t fare very well in society’s standards. The man she can’t stop thinking about is Justin and, little does she know, he has a horrible curse that he’s trying to survive. As the story is told, the curse is revealed with the sorrow and dangers that go with it. This fantasy has mystery, suspense, romance and intrigue all wrapped together for an interesting supernatural book, 4 stars.

Chameleon by Zoe Kalo

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to YA Bound Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Chameleon by Zoe Kalo! Paloma is taken to a convent to “repent, grow and become a better person”, as the head nun tells her, even though Paloma feels as though she’s being punished. She is dropped off at the convent by her mother, stepfather and her younger half sister, Sara, who is sad to leave Paloma. The reason Paloma is in trouble is because she tried conducting seances to reach her father, who died when she was young. Paloma becomes part of a group of teenage girls that each have a story of their own. She is unsure who she can trust, any of the girls or even the nuns. The story pulled my attention in from the beginning with its suspense, mystery and a promise of the paranormal. The complex characters and layered mystery kept me on my toes! 5 stars for the twists, turns and the interesting setting of this story!

Shadow of a Girl

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Shadow of a Girl by Shannon Greenland! Eve has never felt love from her family or the people she has grown up around. Her only friend risks everything to help Eve escape her horrible and tragic life. Once she escapes, Eve is continually hiding from her prison like past while trying to learn how to enjoy life with her new acquaintances. She never truly feels free. West is interesting and entertaining from the first time Eve meets him and West has secrets of his own… Shadow of a Girl deals with difficult issues, such as abuse and overcoming it and how much of a struggle that can be and even more. Amazing character development! This realistic story will empower! 5 stars!

Children of Icarus

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Switch Press for the download of Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith! This story begins with the story of Icarus, which sets the scene for the rest of the book. Clara and her friend, the main character, are going to the Temple of Icarus to see if they will be chosen as angels, as children of Icarus, and will become Icarii. The chosen enter the labyrinth and what awaits them is unexpected. Violence ensues. A group saves them and takes them with as they travel out of the labyrinth and into Fates. The older Icarii explain their future – each of them makes a choice between being a scavenger or a caretaker. Once they reach Fates, their new lives begin. The main character says “Clara” in her sleep and another girl assumes that is her name. Collin, the real Clara’s brother, finds her and it has been so long since they’ve seen each other that he only recognizes her because of Clara’s hair ribbon that she is wearing. Collin later finds parts of the real Clara while he’s on a scavenging trip and calls the main character Nameless and treats her violently. She is sent away with Gina and Felix, who both end up dying and the only people left are her and The Executioner. The Executioner teachers her survival skills and becomes her friend. When The Executioner sacrifices herself to save Nameless, she reads a letter left for her by The Executioner and discovers who she is and the truth about who The Executioner is also. Confusing storyline made sensible by the author – 4 stars!

Tales from the Haunted Mansion: Volume I: The Fearsome Foursome

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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My husband and I returned recently from one of our favorite vacation spots, Disneyland!  I read Tales from the Haunted Mantion Volume I: The Fearsome Foursome before we left and it was just the right book to enthuse me for my husband’s favorite ride, The Haunted Mansion.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Disney Press for the advanced reading copy of Tales from the Haunted Mansion: Volume I: The Fearsome Foursome by Amicus Arcane (a perfectly mysterious author’s name)!

The story begins with four friends, Tim, Noah, Steve and Willa. They each love horror stories and create a horror club where they share scary stories with each other. On a club day, they find their regular meeting spot destroyed and each of the members receives an invitation to a new meeting place, The Haunted Mansion. Amicus Arcane, the host, takes them to the library where spooky stories are shared and each friend takes a turn as the main character. This book is middle school appropriate and good, clean, spooky fun!

 

How to Date Dead Guys

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to Ann M. Noser for the opportunity to read and review her book, How to Date Dead Guys. This story is interesting from the beginning. College age female roommates who don’t really consider each other friends, only acquaintances, open up the tale of Emma. Emma deals with a tragedy alone, without a friend or family member to support her. She tries to solve a huge problem which backfires and causes more problems. While trying to solve these problems, she makes new friends and helps them with their struggles. Emma also grows closer to her own family in the process. The ending left the story open and is part of a series, The Witch’s Handbook. While reading How to Date Dead Guys, I realized that one of the saddest traits of human nature is the inability to show empathy some of the time, especially when people need it the most. I am interested in reading more of this series.

Immortal Beloved Series

Posted on by lynndellwatson

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Immortal Beloved Series by Cate Tiernan because of the humor, action, mystery and suspense!

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Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan begins with a group of immortal friends painting the town and Nas questions everything about herself and her friends. Nas wants to improve her immortal life. She has several identities and passports, so she chooses one and leaves her friends behind to travel to Massachusetts, where River, another immortal, lives. I love the main character’s snark and her reluctant humor. Nas learns a bit about her heritage and her knowledge continues to grow along with her abilities, thanks to River and the other immortals Nas is now living with. River runs a sort of rehabilitation center for immortals to help them heal and make good choices. The immortals have all lived long enough that each of them has suffered tragedy in one form or another and struggles to deal with the memories. The support helps Nas heal while she works on the farm and at her minimum wage job at a local pharmacy where she grows to care about and help regular people. Great book and I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series, Darkness Falls.

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Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan recaps book one, Immortal Beloved, while Nastasya (Nas) is trying to deal with the regrets that keep springing into her mind and she wants to learn from her mistakes and become a better person. Then things start to fall apart and she ends up running away and somehow Incy finds her. Incy hides his true self, but only for a short while and then everything comes to a head. Cate Tiernan keeps the humor going even in dire circumstances and this just holds true for Nastasya’s character and personality. Enjoyable read and I am onto the third book, Eternally Yours.

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Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan ends the Immortal Beloved series perfectly. Nas is back at River’s Edge trying to make good choices an everyday occurrence. She and Reyn are trying to figure out their relationship. Danger surrounds River’s Edge and no one can figure out who or what is causing it. The humor keeps coming and the characters grow. This is the perfect ending to a fun, interesting series. I really enjoyed the history tidbits.

 

Mirage

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the arc of Mirage by Tracy Clark! Ryan loves skydiving and she does it often because her parents own a skydive business. Ryan starts seeing another reflection in the mirror along with her own and she sees eyes looking at her in random places. She feels as though someone is watching her. Ryan loves adrenaline so much, it’s almost like a death wish. Something changes and Ryan is not the same, she has to struggle for her identity amid confusion, heartbreak and tragedy. Mirage is a powerful story that I read in one evening because I became so immersed that it was impossible for me to stop. Some adult content described vaguely (for those readers who prefer to know ahead of time). Mirage contains dynamic characters, suspense and thrills and it is a deep and thought provoking story! I would read it again!