Olivia Decoded

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the arc of Olivia Decoded by Vivi Barnes! I love the relationship between Olivia (Liv) and Mrs. Bedwin (Liv’s housekeeper while in her grandfather’s home). Alternative points of view with Liv and Jack amp up the intensity and empathy for each character. The mystery, suspense and possible danger of the secret admirer make the story even more interesting. The love story between Liv and Jack pulls at the heartstrings. The suspense builds while the mystery begins to unravel and I didn’t figure all of it out until the characters solved the mystery. I give Olivia Decoded 5 stars for great character development, character background and world building. The background of each character made this story deep and thrilling!

Such Sweet Sorrow

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the free digital book of Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout! I was instantly intrigued by the story in the prologue because I knew I would be discovering what happens after Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ends. Then, the first chapter brings Hamlet into the after mix and his story begins where Shakespeare’s Hamlet left off. I was pulled in even more! Romeo and Hamlet travel through Valhalla to try to complete their individual missions and they deal with love, battles, intense warriors and extreme conditions. This story is cleverly written and imagined and it is also complete fun! I give it 5 stars!

Paint My Body Red

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the digital book of Paint My Body Red by Heidi R. Kling! This story involves a depressed main character, Paige, who is dealing with something terrible (the reader has to wait to find out all of the details) and she is leaving her mother to visit her sick father that she hasn’t seen in a long time. Paige arrives in Wyoming and sees how much her father has deteriorated. While confronting this trauma and comforting her father the best way she can, she renews her friendship with Jake, a ranch hand that used to be her close friend when they were younger. The mystery of past events becomes revealed a snippet at a time, as the story is told in parts of then and now and goes from tragic sadness to heartwarming happiness. The complex story flows well and the author bring the characters alive, which helps the reader relate to and gain empathy for them. I give Paint My Body Red 5 stars because Heidi R. Kling pulled all the aspects of this complicated story together cohesively and kept it riveting!

Daring the Bad Boy

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the arc of Daring the Bad Boy by Monica Murphy! This cute romantic story is about two unsure teenagers meeting at summer camp and eventually becoming friends. These two help each other overcome hurdles in their lives and conquer their fears. I didn’t feel completely drawn into the story, but I did enjoy it, so I rate it 3.5 stars.

The Flame and the Arrow

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thank you to Emigh Cannaday for the opportunity to read and review her book, The Flame and the Arrow! This new adult book begins with Annika, a musician who has recently broken up with her fiance and she is talking to her best friend, James, about the events in her life. Annika travels to her Uncle Vince’s home in Bulgaria for a well-deserved respite and to recover from the breakup. She goes for a hike in the wilderness and loses her way back to Uncle Vince’s home. She eventually sees a person and that person is someone she met in town earlier. Annika follows her and they end up in a cave with two other women. Things become strange as they are transported to a different world through a portal, which then closes. The three women reveal that they are wood nymphs and inform Annika that she is one too. She resides with an elven family after the portal has closed and everyone suspects that she belongs in their world. Finn and his father, Ambrose, show Annika the family tree and she discovers that she is part of their world through her mother’s ancestors. Annika begins to have a tumultuous relationship with Talvi, Finn’s brother. The family puts together a group that will be battle ready to find and rescue a member of the family that has been kidnapped, another interesting part of this story. Annika falls in love, learns a lot about herself and becomes somewhat transformed. The writing flows, character development is strong and the story and worlds are elaborate and interesting. The Flame and the Arrow is the beginning of a new adult series about Annika and her life entangled in mystery, intrigue, complicated relationships and romance!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begins with the nineteen years later epilogue from book 7, The Deathly Hallows, (don’t get discouraged because a new story awaits you in these pages). After the refresher, the story jumps to the ongoing events in the characters’ lives. It’s interesting to see how Harry Potter deals with being a parent. This book is lighter reading than the original Harry Potter series but background knowledge is a necessity to understand the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and, as always, when I enter Harry Potter’s world, I never want to leave it.

 

The Fourline Trilogy by Pam Brondos

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to Skyscape and Goodreads for the free copy of Gateway to Fourline by Pam Brondos! Complex characters and a mysterious story line make Gateway to Fourline interesting to read. Natalie is my favorite character because she truly cares about her family and tries to be as independent as possible. She becomes part of a world she knows nothing about as she tries to help her new employers and newly found friends. I especially enjoyed the bastle herder facade when Nat pretended to have fleas! Very funny! Interesting world and characters make Gateway to Fourline the beginning of a promising fantasy trilogy!

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Thanks to NetGalley and Skyscape for the arc of On the Meldon Plain by Pam Brondos! The author sums up events from Gateway to Fourline nicely. Nat still wants to help Estos and she feels guilty that Soris was harmed by a Nala. Nat trains to be a Warrior Sister and she returns to Fourline, after completion of her training, to kill the Nala that harmed Soris. To truly kill a Nala, you must behead it, and Nat only harmed it previously. She is also still learning the depths of her powers. Nat goes on a mission with Annin, Andris, Soris and a few others to find Emilia (Estos’ sister). While on this mission, Nat is determined to find a cure for everyone and anyone who has been harmed by Nala venom. Once the venom enters your body, you began to change and become part Nala or duozi. In Fourline, there is tremendous prejudice towards duozi.

On the Meldon Plain is a bit more serious than Gateway to Fourline, but it still has the same great writing and complex characters as the first book. I thoroughly enjoy the relationships and world building that Pam Brondos has done with her Fourline series.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Skyscape for the arc of The Last Remnant by Pam Brondos! This book finishes the Fourline trilogy perfectly! Nat discovers what causes the Nala venom to take over and change someone into a duozi, but she hasn’t found a cure yet. So, she sends Annin to Fourline to see if Sister Ethet can use Nat’s discovery to come up with a cure. Nat keeps experimenting and finds the cure. She’s anxious to get to Fourline so she can share her findings, but has been told not to go for her own safety. Nat sneaks through the tunnel anyway and inadvertently lets her sister, Cal, slip through the tunnel also. Nat is captured and is injured and given a remnant from the Nalaide (the Nala queen). Nat is rescued and she travels with her friends and sister to a wisdom house where Nat hears about the prediction of a sister who will kill the Nalaide, ending the Nala. The prediction describes the markings on Nat’s arm. Nat continues to fight the Nalaide in her dreams and tries to keep her and her sister safe. The struggle brings stress to everyone involved and closeness between Nat and Cal. This fantasy trilogy contains some romance, battles, suspense and mystery and I highly recommend it!

The Telling

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc of The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy! The synopsis hooked me and I couldn’t stop reading! This book contains some casual conversational swearing with a group of teenagers (just a heads-up if that bothers you). Lana tells the story of before her stepbrother Ben was murdered and after he was murdered. Ben enjoyed telling scary stories to Lana and in these tales, Ben and Lana were always the heroes. After the teenage group has been at the local water spot, they find a body lodged under the water. They bring the body up, try to revive her to no avail and discover she’s the suspect in Ben’s murder, his ex-girlfriend Maggie. Of course, they are immediately thought of as suspects and so they decide to search for clues to clear their names. More violent acts occur and Lana wonders if Ben is the cause. She imagines Ben as an apparition that is seeking revenge. Murders and mystery twist the story around to bring past, present and family secrets into the light. The ending is a tear jerker. Very good writing, story building and the right amount of thrill make it a 5 star book!

Glitter

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Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the arc of Glitter by Aprilynne Pike! This clever and imaginative book involves a young lady, who is a witness to the king murdering a different young lady. The witness is used as part of a blackmail plan contrived by her own mother. The witness’ name is Danica and her mother is concerned with social position and uses blackmail to make her daughter the next queen. Danica’s father is a drug addict and his drug of choice is called “glitter”. Danica formulates a plan for making enough money to buy her way out of the palace life and to gain her freedom – she is going to slowly use “glitter” in cosmetics and make palace dwellers addicted. She gains an assistant while her business continues to prosper. Her life, relationships, business and future all become complicated beyond anything Danica could have imagined! I hope there’s a sequel to this book, even though it can be read as a stand-alone, it has an ending that can go either way.

The Replacement Crush

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the arc of The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts! Viv is beginning her junior year of high school with her best friend Jaz. She lives with her single mom who owns a bookstore and writes mystery novels under an unknown pseudonym. Viv likes Jake and then she discovers that he is a hormonal jerk. This makes her decide to create a replacement crush list filled with guys that she has no romantic interest in. During her replacement crush quest, she meets Dallas, a senior from Wisconsin who just moved to town with his family. Dallas begins working at the bookstore with Viv and he has some secrets of his own. Torturous, emotional and romantic turmoil, cute nicknames, references to readers and bloggers everywhere and even some scary, suspenseful drama make me give The Replacement Crush 5 stars!