The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

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The Queen Of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst is an ebook I checked out on Overdrive through Delta High School’s access. The story opens with a mythical quality and the setting of the village in the trees is described beautifully. The first chapter is in Daleina’s Point of view and alternates with Champion Ven. A few chapters are in Queen Fara’s point of view. The Queen is a complex and complicated character. She’s continuously having replacements trained to become Queen. There’s an academy where training takes place to turn girls into heirs for the Queen. She’s tired of hearing about being replaced and she seems to have an underlying cunning and possible ruthlessness. Daleina travels and trains with Ven and the healer Hamon and they take great care of her and help her when she loses her eyesight. The three companions visit the village that Daleina was born in and where her family still resides. She’s saddened by how much time has changed her home. As a challenge, Queen Fara wants Daleina to reclaim a lost village and the village happens to be her hometown. She’s supposed to claim the village from the spirits, then rebuild it and make it safe. Her companions think the Queen is cruel to ask this of Daleina. As often as she works well with her companions and other candidates and proves to others that she’s capable, Daleina never gets over her self-doubt and insecurities. Ven and Hamon have always been confident in Daleina though. The world is interesting and unique because the people completely rely on spirits for everything from warmth, growing vegetation, cooking and all things that come from air, earth, water, trees and fire. The spirits have a natural tendency and desire to destroy all that is human- people and their creations. The story picked up the pace towards the ending and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, The Reluctant Queen. 4 stars for this new vision of a fantasy world.

If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for the opportunity to read and review If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout! If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The story opens with Lena waking up and not knowing where she is. Time moves backward. Lena keeps to herself and has more than a crush on her neighbor, Sebastian. She’s kind of a homebody and enjoys reading. We get to see into all aspects of Lena’s life and the choices she makes. My heart stopped a few times during the story because of suspense. It also stopped because of the fear of what happened to Lena and her friends and, for a while, not knowing which friends were involved in the accident. This heartfelt story teaches us that we’re all capable of making mistakes and wrong choices and we’re also capable of healing. We also need people to help us overcome and handle grief. 5 stars for another great young adult book from Jennifer L. Armentrout!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary review consideration.

Summoner by S. D. Grimm

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Summoner by S.D. Grimm. Divining rods, a cemetery and a dare open the story. Allie’s new next door neighbor, Cody, is nice and is dealing with the aftereffects of an accident. Cody’s reluctant to discuss the accident and Allie eventually finds out why. For some reason, Allie is hearing a voice, blacks out and acts strange while she’s hearing the voice that no one else hears. It’s embarrassing her and she doesn’t want to tell anyone about the voice. Cody and Allie bond a friendship and more, become best friends and help each other with the struggles they’re both dealing with. The two of them fight together to end the existence of an evil that wants to conquer them. 4 stars for this romantic supernatural read.

Dark Breaks the Dawn by Sara B. Larson

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Dark breaks the dawn by Sara B. Larson is a fairytale retelling of Swan Lake. It’s Princess Evelayn’s 18th birthday and she’s gotten her full powers like she’s supposed to. They are more amazing than she expected. She is happy when her mother, Queen Ilaria, makes it home on the night of her birthday. Only too soon, her mother leaves for battle once again. When the queen is struck down in battle, the kingdom is devastated. Evelayn vows to do whatever it takes to restore peace to her people. The complex world building and character descriptions are amazing and beautiful. I love the colors of skin, hair and eyes and the endless combinations of those attributes on the people of the kingdoms. I was rooting for Evelayn and Tanvir throughout the whole book. An adventure fantasy and a fairytale retelling all in one. 5 stars!

The Irish Getaway by Siobhan Davis

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The newest addition to the Kennedy Boys series by Siobhan Davis, The Irish getaway throws us right back into the never dull, sometimes chaotic lives of the Kennedy family. The cheese factor is high with Ky and Faye and everyone calls them out on it, humorously. The interestingly complex parts of the story involve a mystery dealing with Rach, the conflict between Kal and Lana, the group fight, the sisterly contention between Faye and Whitney and the odd, but funny conflict triangle with James, Adam and Alex. I also enjoyed the bonus reads about Ky, Faye, Brad, Kalvin and Lana that are included with the arc. Thanks Siobhan, for the extra reading material! 5 stars for this quick read addition to the Kennedy Boys series.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Trust by Kylie Scott

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Trust by Kylie Scott opens when Edie is unknowingly caught in a convenience store during a robbery gone bad. John happens to be there also and he saves their lives because he happens to know the shooter, who is a friend of John’s older brother Dillon. The shooter is a drug addict with erratic behavior and ends up shooting the store clerk and Isaac, a young man who was with John. Edie feels extreme gratitude for John’s actions and lets the police know what he did. Edie changes schools after the robbery and enrolls in John’s school without realizing it. She’s surprised to see him in English class and he’s just as surprised to see her. Edie learns about his background but she isn’t deterred from being grateful to him. John and Edie become friends and rely on each other to cope with their experiences at the convenience store. Edie is cute and keeps to herself and John becomes protective of her. He’s also turning his life around. They are funny together and they made me laugh several times throughout the book. Realistic fiction with some new adult content, Trust is a great story that I couldn’t put down and I want to visit the characters again-5 stars.

Rowan Wood Legends by Olivia Wildenstein

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Rowan Wood Legends by Olivia Wildenstein, the sequel to Rose Petal Graves, opens with Cat mourning Holly. Holly has passed away and Cat wonders if there was foul play. She discovers what happened to Holly and the reasoning behind her death. Cat seems to be going through a maze while blindfolded when it comes to figuring out who her friends are and who she can truly trust. Kajika, Ace and others are not what they immediately seem to be. The struggles with her identity and where she belongs continue to taunt Cat and she’s still keeping these questions and part of her life from her father. The romantic relationship she finally concedes too is cute and I want to read more! 4 stars for a fantasy with unanswered questions in a supernatural world.

 *Rowan Wood Legends can be read as a standalone but does continue the story from Rose Petal Graves. Rose Petal Graves will be available to anyone who wants to read it first!*

Bad Girl Gone by Temple Mathews

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Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review Bad Girl Gone by Temple Mathews. Echo wakes up in a strange place and she’s having a difficult time getting her bearings. It’s too dark to make out much and as she’s feeling around she touches something stringy like hair. She realizes she’s not in her bedroom or even her home. She hears creepy laughing and screaming and what she thinks might be a cutting tool. She’s spooked and terrified and she’s told by a scary nurse/nun that she’s now in Middle House. The other residents are young people also and Echo assumes that Middle House is an orphanage but the truth freaks her out even more. She learns to accept being a Middle House resident and gains friendship and help from the others as she discovers why and how she was brought to Middle House. The beginning of the book led my mind one direction and the continuation led it to a completely different direction. I don’t want to give the mystery away because it’s the reason I kept reading. Reminiscent of Everlost by Neal Shusterman, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs and a tiny bit of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Bad Girl Gone is a supernatural romance surrounded in mystery, 4 stars.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon! Prejudice and pushy parents are a part of every culture and Dimple is tired of her parents shoving the culture of India down her throat when she just wants to be a young adult American. Her dream is to become a web developer. she’ll be attending Stanford in the fall but for the summer she’s attending Insomnia Con-six weeks of learning web design and development. Little does she know that her parents have prearranged a meeting with the young man they want her to eventually marry, Rishi. She knows nothing about Rishi and her parents kept her in the dark while Rishi’s parents told him everything. Rishi doesn’t realize that Dimple has no idea before it’s too late and they have a disastrous first meeting. They end up being partners for Insomnia Con and get the chance to know each other without the pressure from their parents. Dimple and Rishi have more in common than they could have guessed and they end up being very compatible. I think it’s creative and funny how they dubbed the small group of rude, arrogant rich kids, The Aberzombies and it made me smile every time it was mentioned in the book. The story of Dimple and Rishi is fun, eye-opening, romantic, full of friendship and loyalty, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking. Beautifully written, entertaining and worth 5 stars!

 

Omega by Jus Accardo

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Omega by Jus Accardo! The sequel to Infinity focuses on the relationship between Noah and Ash. Ash has just literally run into Noah, but this isn’t the Noah she knows. The Noah she knows has supposedly committed suicide recently. The friction, chemistry and snark between Noah and Ash kept me entertained and the Omega mystery and danger the main characters are dealing with amped up the interest. The story becomes more complicated when two more characters are introduced. The ending leaves an opening for another sequel. 5 stars for a twisted science fiction read.