The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle, Book 1 of The City of Fantome series

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Is lightfire legend or truth?

In Fantome, Shade magic rules all. Daggers use Shade to destroy and rule. Cloaks use Shade to protect and steal. When a man kills Sera’s mother and burns down their home, she runs to the only place she’s been told to go if she’s in danger, the Cloaks guild in the city of Fantome. Sera’s mother told her to flee to the Cloaks if anything ever happened to her and she was no longer able to protect Sera. Sera’s sure a Dagger killed her mother and set their house on fire, destroying everything, and she swears to seek revenge. Monsters with unknown origins are taking over Fantome and no one knows where they came from or how to get rid of them. Sera’s mother left her a teardrop charm on a necklace and Sera thinks it’s only a token until it explodes into light and saves her life when a monster corners her. Could her mother’s gift be the answer to all?

Likes/dislikes: The twists are so good! My library patrons will love the enemies to lovers theme, with the charming and cute flirting that goes along with it. I love the mystery behind the whole story. Sera has spunk and perseverance. The interesting legend and backstory are fun to dive into.
Mature Content: PG-13 for petting.
Language: R for 153 swears, 35 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody violence and deaths.
Ethnicity: Sera is white. Sera’s friends: Val has brown skin, Theo has golden brown skin, and Bibi has pale skin. The opponent Dagger, Ransom, has olive skin.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Den of thieves, con artists and Grisha!

17yo Kaz leads a group of thieves in Ketterdam. He has built himself up from solitude, poverty and despair since he was nine years old and his brother died. Kaz wants revenge on the man who took everything from him and his brother by swindling them and he’s gaining power for this purpose. Kaz and his mismatched crew are attempting the biggest and craziest heist ever to gain more leverage and to get control of the person who has created a drug to make Grisha even more powerful. Kaz is good at keeping secrets and information quiet and it just might drive his crew apart.

Likes/dislikes: I love the intensity of the characters and the story itself. The background building of each character is fantastic. The danger and suspense make it a fun read!
Language: R for 34 swears and one f-word.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody stab wounds, and dead bodies impaled on pikes.
Ethnicity: The ethnicities included are the following: Kaz is white, Inej is bronze skinned and Suli descent, dark skin Jesper, Nina from Ravka with green eyes and white, Matthias is also white.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

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Creepy and twisty!

Christa and several strangers are on a bus to Blackstone Alpine Lodge in winter when they are stopped by a fallen tree across the road. Christa and Kiernan are on the trip so he can share with her the memories he made with his family at Blackstone Alpine Lodge in years past. The two wander off while the other bus passengers work on moving the tree. A storm hits and Christa falls out of Kiernan’s reach. She’s found later by the rest of the group but Kiernan is lost. The group soon discovers that a killer is in their midst when they’re taken out one by one and their heads are displayed on the large tree next to their cabin shelter. Creepy and surrounded in mystery to the very end! 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the double layer mystery, the creepiness factor and suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists.
Mature content: gentle kisses
Violence: R for several bloody deaths by decapitation and heads being displayed on tree branches.
Language: PG-13 for 16 swears and no f-bombs.

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

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Once upon a time, Mer lives in the kingdom of Wales which is full of magic and conflict. Mer is a diviner of magic who wants a peaceful life after she’s escaped from the abusive prince. The spymaster that captured her for the prince years ago offers her a job that will give her revenge on the prince and lots of coin so she can start a new life somewhere safe. She meets the rest of the group that includes a lord’s cousin with a gambling debt, a man who seeks revenge, a man that made a deal with the Otherfolk and a past acquaintance who happens to be an excellent thief. The banter and dynamics keep their journey interesting and the danger builds to intense levels. Mer will have to choose between herself and others and that will help decide her fate and the fate of the kingdom. Incredible world building, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes:
The prose is beautiful and the world building is incredible. I love the variety of characters, especially the Corgi dog. I like how this book ties into the author’s book, The Bone Houses. The ethnicity is European.
Language: PG for one swear and no f-bombs
Violence: PG-13
Bandits burning homes with families inside. A young girl being taken from her family. Fighting to the death. A knife buried by the prince into a spy’s eye. A water horse bites a man in half. A giant magical boar stabs a man with his tusk.
Mature Content: PG for kissing.

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

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The intensity builds to the extreme!

Red is traveling in an RV to Florida with her friends to spend a week celebrating spring break together. They lose cell service and GPS capabilities then end up down a dead end road getting a flat tire. After replacing the flat tire with the spare, Red sees a red dot hovering around the RV and yells at the others to notice. They ignore her until they hear the gunshots that take out all four tires. The group runs into the RV for protection. The shooter leaves a walkie talkie for communication and tells them that one of them has a secret they need to share. The secret is going to be revealed, one way or another!

Likes/dislikes:
Oliver is annoying because he’s a know-it-all with a superiority complex. The mystery is interesting to try to unravel when a few characters allude to having secrets. The suspense builds intensely, which makes a riveting read.

Mature Content:
PG-13 for drinking

Language:
R for 20 swears and 105 f-bombs.

Violence:
PG-13 for Someone shoots at the RV and holds the travelers hostage inside. The sniper fatally shoots an elderly couple that stop to help. Bloody shootings. Attack with a knife.

Ethnicity:
Mixed, Korean, Mexican, white, African American

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

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Jam-packed with action!

A young woman is searching for evidence of her mother in unmarked graves. Sloane knows that the Nightwalkers are responsible for her mother’s disappearance and she wants the proof. She’s caught by a Nightwalker and attacked. She unleashes her Scion power to save herself and burns him to ash in the process. Her identity as a Scion has to be kept secret or the rulers will kill her. She runs home to her grandfather, Baba. He has news that one of her friends ran from the draft and was killed because of it. Now three more people will be sent draft letters. She’s one of them, along with her best friend Teo. Teo has saved money and planned for the two of them to run if they are drafted. He shows Sloane his plan but she knows he’ll get killed if they run. To get him to drop his plans, Sloane threatens to turn him in. He walks off. Sloane is drafted, along with her bully Malachi. Malachi hates Sloane and wants revenge on her because she accidentally killed his family in a fire that she started. As the story continues, Sloane discovers secrets about her mother, finds possible allies and learns that not everyone is as they seem or appear to be. She also has to lose some of her humanity and empathy to sacrifice and do her part in becoming a hardened soldier. So many surprises and twists pop up in this book, making it a fast-paced read that’s also jam-packed with action and acts of violence. Sloane’s world is brutal and she makes some horrible choices to stay alive. 4 stars!

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

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Intense to the very end!

This is the best book of the series! Action packed and suspenseful enough to keep the stress level high! The author made me feel everything that Pip went through, physically and emotionally. Pip’s stubbornness exasperated me at times but her intelligence knows no bounds and makes her stubborn because she can analyze situations and outcomes that others might not see. The mysteries come full circle with intensity and full force. I don’t want to spoil the story but if you like mysteries then this series is a must-read, 5 stars!

The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson

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The perfect ending to the Storm Crow duology!

Anthia is on her way to the meeting of rulers to gain their help in defeating Razel, the Illucian queen. She has companions with her, Res, Caylus and Kiva. On the trip, the ship stops at retired crow riders’ ports so Res and Anthia can receive training to help him develop and hone his powers. Razel attacks their ship with Malkin‘s crew, putting Caylus in Malkin’s sight once again. Anthia grows as she continues to pull herself out of the pit of depression that almost consumed her after her mother died. Res is fun and fantastic with his attitude and magic abilities. He adds bits of humor throughout the story. It’s going to take everything to defeat Razel, including teamwork. This is a wonderful read and perfect ending to The Storm Crow duology with it’s intense intrigue and strong characters, 5 stars!

Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie Richards

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A fun, fantastic horror story!

Cleo gets done showering and sees a gift- wrapped package on the bathroom sink that wasn’t there before she got in the shower. She assumes it’s from a family member or friend but when she asks about it, no one has any idea about the package. This freaks Cleo out so she calls the police and the cop is respectful and helps her realize that she did the right thing by calling. No victim shaming. Her best friend Hope shows up in the meantime. The officer finds a few windows unlocked in her house but nothing else. After the officer leaves, the two friends find another box containing a scavenger hunt clue like the first package. The hunt grows creepier as the clues dredge up memories that Cleo would like to forget. This mystery gets more interesting as the creep factor cranks up! A fun, fantastic horror story, 5 stars!

Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning

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Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning. The story begins fifty years after Sea Witch. Evie is known as the Sea Witch and sea residents go to her for magic and to have their wishes fulfilled. Runa’s twin sibling, Alia, wished to become human so she could marry the prince. Runa begs for the help of Evie so she can bring her sister back home. Complications arise under the sea and on dry land. Deception, manipulation, and revenge tell this story, 4 stars!