The House of Quiet by Kiersten White

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Balance must be maintained…

Birdie was only ten when she left her sister Magpie and their parents years ago. Birdie set out to work as a housemaid, so she could earn money and help her parents pay for Magpie’s procedure. She hasn’t seen them in eight years. Birdie has manipulated her way from house to house, finally being sent to the House of Quiet, hoping to find her sister. When Birdie arrives, she finds more questions than answers.

Likes/dislikes: I didn’t really understand the concept of the House of Quiet and its purpose or the procedure that kept being referred to. I liked the characters Birdie and Forest and the strength they showed. I also liked the cute crush they have on each other. I would like to know more of what the houses were like that Birdie previously worked at and more of her experiences there.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: G for 0 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody wounds
Ethnicity: mentions brown skin, light brown skin, and pale skin.

Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine

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Whoa! That ending!!!

Olivia is curious about who her biological father is after she finds out her parents have been keeping secrets from her. Reagan continues to move with her mother who is a suspect in the Camp Lost Lake murders of 2008. Olivia and Reagan both end up at Camp Lost Lake looking for answers and meet by accident. Little do they know that they’re walking into another murdering rampage as the Witch of Camp Lost Lake returns. They will get answers but will they survive?

Likes/dislikes: Creepy, twisty, mysterious fun! I couldn’t put the book down after chapter 5! The ending was intense and a shocker and left me wanting more to read!
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 75 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is predominantly white and Jack is Asian. Hazel is a Jewish Jamaican. Sawyer has tan skin.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

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“Ghosts have warm hands.” World War I historical fiction!

Laura receives her brother’s dog tags and uniform in the mail. This means that Freddie has died in World War I. She’s devastated but has a feeling that he isn’t dead. She leaves her Canadian home and travels back to World War I and takes up her mantle as a war nurse again to search for any information she can find about Freddie. What she discovers will change her life forever.

Likes/dislikes: Laura’s strength, perseverance, and love for her brother makes her a great character. My heart warmed as Freddie and the German soldier helped each other and became like brothers. I appreciated the World War I setting and learned quite a bit about its history. I didn’t know about the Halifax explosion before I read this book.
Language: R for 93 swears and 3 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for adults drinking.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

Chaos & Flame by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland

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Mad Prince Caspian is a great character!

The prophetic High Prince Regent Caspian has drawn and painted pictures of a girl that he sees needs saving. His mother dies and then his aunt Aurora keeps his abilities hidden so the kingdom won’t thinks he’s unstable. 17yo Darling is the girl in Caspian’s artwork and she’s now a young woman trying to liberate her father so she plays the part Caspian wants her to play. At the ball, Caspian announces a tour of the kingdom that he’ll be taking and he plans on his brother Talon and Darling accompanying him. As they travel, their eyes are opened to the true state of their country and citizens and discover plots to take them down.

Likes/dislikes: I like the alternating viewpoints of Darling, Talon and Caspian. The world building is done well. I enjoyed the friction between Talon and Darling and also Caspian’s personality and humor.
Mature Content: PG for kissing and implied sex with no details.
Language: PG-13 for 11 swears and no f-words.
Ethnicity: Darling has deep brown skin. Alvin has an olive complexion. Talon has tan skin. Finn is pale skinned.

Curses by Lish McBride

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Wonderfully descriptive and charming characters!

17yo Merit is cursed to be a beast until she agrees to marry someone who her mother approves of. She meets 19yo Tevin, a professional conman, and they strike a bargain. Merit’s mother has set her up with three worthy candidates and Tevin is going to help Merit navigate their intentions because she doesn’t trust her instincts after being jilted by her boyfriend Jasper. Jasper left Merit after her mother offered him money to leave. Merit feels trapped by her mother and she doesn’t feel anything for the three candidates. As she confides in Tevin, the two of them become friends and more. As they work together, they unknowingly walk into danger and discover deception and they’re going to have to rely on each other more than they realize.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the wonderful descriptions of the setting. The humor is cute and funny. I grew to love the charming characters.
Mature content: PG for brief passionate kissing.
Language: PG for 7 swears and no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death of an animal.
Ethnicity: Merit is white, other characters are of mixed ethnicity, including fairy.

The Wolves are Watching by Natalie Lund

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Mystery and folklore!

Mystery and folklore!
Luce’s cousin goes missing from her room one evening and it’s devastating her family. Luce, 15, had seen yellow eyes in the woods behind her house in Picnic, Illinois for a few nights before her cousin Madison went missing and she thinks the eyes might be a clue to finding her. Luce’s and Anders’ teacher assigns a historical research paper and Luce chooses to research the local history of missing girls. A girl has gone missing every nineteen years and she returns a few days later but the mother always claims that the returning girl is not her daughter. When Madison returns, her mother and Luce know that it’s not really her and she’s determined to find the real Madison despite the dangers it puts Luce in.

Likes/dislikes: The story started out simplistically but grew with more depth. I like the paranormal mystery behind the missing girls. Andres is an endearing character. I appreciate the message of independence and the message that you also need others in your life.
Mature content: PG for a gentle kiss and a brief kiss.
Language: R for 17 swears and 1 f-bomb.
Violence: PG-13 for child abduction.
Ethnicity: Predominantly white.

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

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An absolute must-read!

An absolute must-read!

Sal 17, lives in Juniper, California with his sick mother and alcoholic father. Sal attends school while trying to help keep the family hotel afloat. Sal and Noor, 18, were best friends until they had a fight months ago and haven’t spoken since. Sal’s mom collapses and needs to be taken to the hospital while Noor happens to be visiting her. Sal’s mother passes away and her last words to Noor were to forgive. Sal and Noor try to mend their friendship but they’re both keeping secrets and trying to persevere through their own harsh situations. When life implodes, they both have to make some tough choices.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed learning about Pakistani culture and its languages. The author gives a comprehensive, concise content warning at the beginning of the book and lists resources at the end for help with domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, immigration and refugee rights, children’s defense fund, and women of color. I appreciate how the author portrayed harsh realities to readers in a way that is educational and with empathy but not graphic. This book is a must read.
Language: R for 147 swears and 3 f-bombs.
Mature Content: PG for brief undescribed kiss, drug dealer selling pills, mention of marijuana (weed), deeper kiss.
Violence: PG-13 for child abuse (a push against the wall), bloody face from abuse, kicking ribs, mentions of repressed sexual assault, continued abuse.
Ethnicity: Sal and Noor and their family members are Pakistani living in a predominantly white community. There is a Pakistani religious leader and his wife is Black. The Judge is Mexican American and the story contains mixed ethnicity police officers.

Kill Joy by Holly Jackson

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Prequel to AGGGTM!
Pip, 17, attends a murder mystery dinner party in her hometown of Fairview, Connecticut along with her friends. As she’s playing her part, she discovers how invested she becomes even though it’s a fake mystery. She has an elaborate theory involving most of the players and their characters and is disappointed when the packaged murder mystery only declares the murderer and nothing else about the shenanigans involving the others. This party takes place before Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. It helps Pip decide on her Capstone Project topic, solving Andie Bell’s murder.

Likes/dislikes: This novella is a quick read. I like that it’s a prequel and a precursor to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. I enjoyed the interesting murder mystery dinner party idea.
Mature Content: G for none.
Language: R for 17 swears and 10 f-bombs.
Violence: PG for a fake bloody death.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with Pip being White.

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

Castles in Their Bones

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Interesting premise of deception!

In the imaginary continent of Vesteria, three princesses celebrate their sixteenth birthday together and mourn their time together. They will be sent off to other kingdoms to marry princes. Each princess will go to a different kingdom and marry the ruler; Sophronia is marrying King Leopold, who treats her kindly along with his family and court; Beatriz is marrying Prince Pasquale and seems unwanted by him but she’s meant to sway Lord Savelle, as her mother instructed; Daphne is marrying Cillian, who dies before she arrives, so the second heir, Bairre, takes his place in marriage. Each princess struggles with who to trust and in completing their set missions for their mother and her ultimate goals. They’re in more danger than they realize and start to see that they can’t rely on their mother for help or love.

Likes/dislikes: I had a difficult time keeping the three princesses and their corresponding kingdoms straight. I like the premise of villainous deception and seeing the changes that took place within the princesses. I enjoyed the side characters of each prince and the diversity amongst the kingdoms.

Mature Content: PG-13 for kissing and drinking wine.
Language: PG-13 for 19 swears and no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for a beheading.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.