Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher

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Sep 26

{Review+Giveaway} The Lantern’s Ember by Colleen Houck

The Lantern’s Ember is a standalone young adult novel by Colleen Houck. I don’t normally mention a book’s cover, but I have to talk for a moment about just how stunning the cover of The Lantern’s Ember is. I think it is the perfect cover for this story, and it helped to set the mood of the story for me. I really, really love it. And speaking of love, I thought this novel was the perfect read to get you into the Halloween spirit. I think this is a great read for young adult readers (even some on the younger end that are ok with a romance) . The characters are age appropriate and the novel has a wonderful magical atmosphere that will draw you in. The Lantern’s Ember gave me HalloweenTown vibes. In a strange way, because the setting is not really like Halloween Town but the concept of journeying into another magical world with a guide of sorts. Plus, while the atmosphere was totally spooky and had a… Read more »

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Aug 09

{Review+Giveaway} The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell

The Forest Queen is a young adult fantasy retelling by Betsy Cornwell. It is labeled as being book 0.5 in the Mechanica series. While I have not read Mechanica, I believe this is a standalone story that is set in the same world. Mechanica is a retelling of Cinderella but The Forest Queen is a female retelling of Robin Hood. I loved that Robin Hood was in fact our main character, Sylvie. In fact, the Forest Queen has a very strong female empowerment vibe throughout. I enjoyed The Forest Queen. I am a fan of the tale of Robin Hood and I thought the Forest Queen provided a new spin on that story. That being said, while I liked this book, it didn’t completely blow me away. It was a good novel, but something stopped me from completely falling in love with it. In the Forest Queen we meet Sylvie and her brother John. I got the impression that Sylvie and her brother John used to be pretty close, but… Read more »

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Jul 12

{Review+Giveaway} Kiss of the Royal by @LindseyDuga @EntangledTeen

Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga is a young adult fantasy novel, and one of my most anticipated reads of summer 2018. Fantasy romances are my very favorite genre at the moment, and one where the magic travels through kisses…well, how could I not love that book? I am so happy to report that not only was Kiss of the Royal just what I was looking for, it also surprised me in a very good way. Lindsey Duga took pieces of a few fairy tale classics and twisted and turned them into a fantasy novel of epic proportions. While I would really love to revisit the world that Lindsey created in Kiss of the Royal, at the moment I believe this is meant to be a standalone novel. And it is very satisfying as a standalone. It ends in a nice way, but I am so in love with the characters that I would love to read more about them. ::CoughZachCough:: Kiss of the Royal is set in a… Read more »

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Jun 20

{Review} Nothing But Sky by Amy Trueblood

Nothing but Sky is a young adult novel by Amy Trueblood, set in the 1920s. I love the era of 20s, and this book embidoed that time period beautifully. Set in post world war 1, flying is still relatively new and very much for the guys. Along comes Grace who longs to be anywhere, as long as it is high up in the air, and I knew this was going to be a book that I couldn’t put down. I loved Grace. She is plucky and ambitious, and demands that you listen to her. I loved that about her. Grace is a total daredevil. She is part of “The Soaring Eagles” barnstorming team, which is a team of stunt flyers. One thing you soon learn about Grace…she has no problem setting her sights high. Both figuratively and literally. Her dream is to win the 1922 World Aviation Exposition in Chicago. I loved Grace’s journey to get to the Expo and to compete. Nothing But Sky is a read that is… Read more »

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Jun 07

{Review+Giveaway} LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff @misterkristoff @KnopfBFYR

Lifel1k3 is the first book in the young adult science fiction series, Lifelike, by author megastar Jay Kristoff. I loved Jay’s Illuminae series, and I have been dying to read his Nevernight Chronicles (Which I really need to get a move on. Come on Michelle!) but when I saw he was releasing the Lifelike series, I knew I couldn’t miss it. Lifel1k3 has such a cool concept…robot, robots and more robots. The concept of artificial intelligence has always fascinated me. So when you take a book set in a post apocalyptic future where robots and AI are a huge part of the world, I am all in. Eve is our main character in Lifel1k3. Eve builds robots to fight. Things quickly get interesting in a robot fight that goes south really quickly. Eve is in danger of dying until she has some x-men like abilities that save her, and at the same time, put her in a very dangerous position. The world in Lifel1k3 is fierce and very violent and dangerous. All… Read more »

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May 29

${ARC Review} Bring Me Their Hearts by @Sara_Wolf1 @EntangledTeen$

{ARC Review} Bring Me Their Hearts by @Sara_Wolf1 @EntangledTeen

Bring Me Their Hearts is the first book in a new young adult fantasy trilogy by Sara Wolf. I loved this book. It was one of those books that started off decent, and then just kept getting better and better until I was completely and utterly entranced by it at the end. Bring Me Their Hearts was such a fantastic book. I’m not sure why I was surprised..I absolutely LOVED Sara Wolf’s lovely vicious series, and this was equally delicious in a different way. Bring Me Their Hearts is a darker fantasy series that has a fantastic romance woven into a really cool plotline. It is the story of Zera, who is a heartless. A heartless is someone who has lost their heart to a witch. And as long as the witch holds their heart, they are under the control of said witch. Zera is such a fascinating character. I loved her. She sees herself a monster (for a variety of reasons), but her shades of morality make her super interesting…. Read more »

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May 07

{ARC Review} The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang @HHoangWrites @BerkleyRomance

The Kiss Quotient is the first book in a new series by the same name by author Helen Hoang. The Kiss Quotient is a romantic comedy about two characters that will make you fall head over heels in love with them. The Kiss Quotient was like a breath of fresh air for me. I absolutely adored getting to know Stella and Michael, and I am beyond happy that this is going to be a series. Helen Hoang is an author that I need to keep my eye on, because this book was easily one of my favorite reads of 2018 in the contemporary romance category. It was just so cute and romantic! Stella is a numbers gal. She is super analytical, and she also happens to be on the spectrum, so when she has a problem in the love department, she turns to the one thing she feels comfortable with…math and numbers. She thinks she can quantify love and come up with a formula for a winning relationship. I loved Stella… Read more »

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Apr 23

{ARC Review+Wedding Style Board} Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Royals is the first book in a young adult series by the same name from author Rachel Hawkins. I loved this super fun read for many reasons. First, I am all about all things wedding at the moment with the Royal wedding happening this summer and me planning my own wedding. This was right up my alley and second, because of the characters. I cannot tell you how much I love that the main character of this story is the sister of character engaged to the prince. This was a great idea on Rachel Hawkins part. It sets Royals apart from all of the other, I fell in love with a prince books. Daisy’s sister, Ellie is engaged to Prince Alex. But the real star of the story is Daisy. I loved Daisy. She is a bit of a hot mess at times, but she is always feisty and spunky and has no problem speaking first and dealing with the consequences later. I was hoping that Royals would have a… Read more »

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Apr 12

${ARC Review+Giveaway} Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian @sebastian_lk @DelacortePress$

{ARC Review+Giveaway} Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian @sebastian_lk @DelacortePress

Ash Princess is the first book a young adult fantasy series by the same name by author Laura Sebastian. Ash Princess is Laura Sebastian’s debut novel, which impressed me even more. I really liked this novel. I know it might seem like a storyline that you have heard before, and while I am not going to say it so shockingly different, it was different enough to stand out against other young adult fantasies. I especially loved the foreword, where she describes her heroine as someone who does not battle with a sword, but rather, with her own wits and cunning. It is really refrshing to see such a heroine portrayed, because it made her so much more relate able to me. Theo is the princess of her country that was invaded and taken over when she was a little girl. Her parents, and most of her people, were killed and Theo, or Thora, was kept as a palace prisoner. The invading ruler, called the Kaiser, believes that he completely broke… Read more »

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Apr 09

${ARC Review} Bound to You by @_AlyssaBrandon_ @SwoonReads$

{ARC Review} Bound to You by @_AlyssaBrandon_ @SwoonReads

Bound to You is a young adult paranormal romance by Alyssa Brandon. Bound to You is the first book in a new series about Werewolves (at least I hope so!). Now, let’s just get this out of the way up front. I have been pretty burnt out on wolves for a while now. I have always enjoyed a good werewolf story, but after seeing countless dozen iterations of the same thing, I got a little bored. So I haven’t really read too many young adult novels featuring werewolves in the past couple of years. Sure, there have been some of my favorite series in the past have been about werewolves, but I have not found any novels in the past 2 or 3 years that have grabbed my attention. In fact, almost all I have read were either DNF or under 3 stars. Until Bound to You. Holy cow, I loved this book. I really loved this book. I read it in one sitting and I stayed up until about… Read more »