Tag: mystery

Aug 06

{Review+Giveaway} Sigil in Shadow by Constance Roberts @CBRstory33 @CedarFortBooks

Sigil in Shadow by Constance Roberts is a historical mystery in a royal court setting. Not a historical in the sense that it is modeled after events in history, but the book takes place in the past. I love a good royal court setting in a book, especially a book that has a mystery element to it because I feel like politics and high society and people trying to climb the court ranks all lend themselves really well to deception, betrayal and mind games galore. I adored Sigil in Shadow. I think this is a book that deserves to be put out in the spotlight of the young adult world. I have not heard too much hype surrounding this book, and I am shocked! This is a book worth reading, and then some. Sigil in Shadow follows Ellary, a young girl with an aptitude for healing. Ellary’s talent with healing and making potions for healing reminded me of the Maria V. Snyder’s Healer series. I think this book would be… Read more »

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Jun 09

${Review+Giveaway} ASP of Ascension by @BR_Myers$

{Review+Giveaway} ASP of Ascension by @BR_Myers

ASP of Ascension is the first in the young adult Nefertari Hughes Mystery series by B.R. Myers. I really enjoyed ASP of Ascension and I am really digging the cover of the book. It reminds me so much of an Egyptian version of the old school Nancy Drew book covers. Which I completely love. I also love all things Egypt so I found this book particularly interesting. It centers around a very important and secret exhibit coming to a small town, and a curse surrounding it- Cleopatra sarcophagus! Terry, short for Nefertari, starts at a new school because her dad, who is a famous archeologist, is bringing a secret exhibit to town. I really liked Terry. I found her trips with her parents to be fascinating, and as painful as it was for her, I really enjoyed the glimpses into her past that we got. Espically that fateful trip into the fourth chamber where she was injured, and she lost her mom. Not to mention all of the curse business…. Read more »

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Mar 09

{Review+Giveaway} Holding Court by @KCHeld @EntangledTeen

Holding Court is a young adult mystery romance by K.C. Held. How could I not read Holding Court? I mean, come on, there are castles, history, oh and “Psychic Tourette’s Syndrome”. Described as “spontaneous and uncontrollable outbursts of seemingly absurd prophecies.” That just screams good time to me. And I was so right. Holding Court was such a fun read. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. In fact, it is one of the best books I have read in the past few months. I believe that Holding Court is a standalone, but I am really hoping. No scratch that, I am begging K.C. Held to write another book with Jules and Grayson. Jules and her “Psychic Tourette’s Syndrome” are my favorite. I just loved her. I want to be best friends with this girl. Plus, her and Grayson had full conversations quoting The Princess Bride. How can you not love them?? Holding Court is unlike anything I have read in a while. Jules takes a summer job at a… Read more »

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Jan 25

{Review} The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall @PenguinTeen @MaggieEHall

Have you ever picked up a book and by the time you were finished, you were convinced that the author crafted the book just for you? That was what happened to be with The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall. It was like the author poked around in my head, and pulled out a bunch of winning elements for me, mashed them all together and popped out a story that was sure to make me fall in love with it. Everyone is comparing The Conspiracy of Us to The DaVinci Code, and I get that comparison, but I feel like it was even more than that. It felt like The DaVinci Code mixed with Tomb Raider mixed with the biggest international secret society of all. Plus the focus was on Alexander the Great, who I think is a fascinating historical figure. (and yes, I do know that a ton of “facts” surrounding Alexander have been fictionalized and sensationalized throughout history, but that just makes him all the more interesting in… Read more »

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Jan 19

{ARC Review+Guest Post+Giveaway} Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz @TwoHeadedWriter

Today I have authors Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz here to talk about some of some of the perks and drawbacks/challenges of co-authoring a novel We’ll start with the perks, because there are a lot more of them. It’s fun! Our “writing process” involves a lot of procrastination, which involves lots of talking about movies, TV, junk food, dogs, and whatnot. It’s not as entertaining to talk to yourself. When one of us gets stuck we can just put “You write this part” in the manuscript. That could also be a drawback—depends on who wrote the note and who has to respond. Laura usually throws any sexy stuff to Melinda, but Melinda actually likes to write it, so there you go. We each have someone to complain to about how hard writing is. Two heads make plotting easier. WAY easier. We are almost always in agreement about what we want to do with the book we’re writing. We’re both former editors, so we can edit each other—and neither of… Read more »

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Jan 13

{ARC Review+Giveaway} #ShadeMe by Jennifer Brown @JenBrownBooks @EpicReads

Shade Me is the first book in the young adult mystery and suspense thriller, Nikki Kill series. Nikki sees emotions as different colors. It is a phenomenon known as synesthesia, and I find it completely fascinating. I have read a few magical books where witches or the like have an ability that is similar to synesthesia, but it was really very interesting to see Nikki in a more contemporary/mystery suspense setting with this ability. I found Shade Me to be a really fun ride of a read. The mystery was kept me interested and engaged until the very end. I didn’t always love the characters, but I did like them, and with as action packed of a plot, liking them was more than enough for me. Nikki is the main character, and I can see where she would feel completely overwhelmed by her synesthesia. That has to be like sensory overload. Which could account for why I sometimes found Nikki to be a bit too brash. Even so, I was… Read more »

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Jul 08

${Review} Tangled Webs by @Lee_Bross @HyperionTeens @DisneyHyperion$

{Review} Tangled Webs by @Lee_Bross @HyperionTeens @DisneyHyperion

Tangled Webs is one of those books where it was love at first glance. As soon as I saw the cover I fell in love. (side note: this is a beautifully designed book. Each of the chapters even has black and white lace designs on the pages. A wonderfully intricate touch, I thought.) I knew I wanted to read it. And then as soon as I saw the summary, and found out that Tangled Webs was about a blackmailer in historical London, called Lady A who collected secrets, I was even more excited! How amazingly cool does that sound? And then the plot thickens. When I finished Tangled Webs, I liked it and I thought it ended in a good place for a standalone. But then I went on goodreads and saw that it is the first in the Tangled Webs series. Whaaa? Now I am very intrigued to see where Lee Bross is going to take the next installment. I honestly thought it was wrapped up as a standalone,… Read more »

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Jun 09

{ARC Review+Giveaway} Secret of the Sevens by @LynnLindquist @Fluxbooks

Secret of the Sevens is an action packed young adult mystery adventure. I am a big fan of books that feature secret societies and I love puzzle solving and clues, so this was a great fit for me. I couldn’t put Secret of the Sevens down. With more twists, turns and reveals than you can count, a really cute developing crush romance, and a spooky boarding school setting, Secret of the Sevens has something for everyone. Ever since I saw the Life and Death Brigade on Gilmore Girls, I have become a little obsessed with the idea of secret societies. I wanted to be inducted into one so bad. I never was (or was I??), but I got to live out my secret society dreams through Secret of the Sevens. And their group, the Sevens even had a generation old murder to solve. Oh the intrigue! I am not going to spoil anything about this book, plot wise, because that would be no fun. But I will tell you this,… Read more »

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May 04

{Review+Giveaway} Finding Paris by @JoyPreble @BalzerandBray

Finding Paris is a young adult contemporary/mystery. The set up is instantly intriguing. It is a story about two sisters in Las Vegas. Paris, the older sister demands a post break-up pie trip in the middle of the night and ends of disappearing in the middle of it. She leaves her sister a clue and tells her to come find her and that she needs help. What starts out as a kind of unconventional scavenger hunt, becomes more and more mysterious as the book progresses. I really liked Finding Paris. It is part scavenger hunt, part mystery, part romance, and more secrets than you can count. Hold on to your seat and get ready to go on a twisty, turn-y adventure with this one. I don’t know whether to be impressed with Paris or disturbed. Maybe a little bit of both, but I will say one thing for her. No matter what it seems like at any given time, she really loves her sister Leo. And the sibling relationship aspect… Read more »

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Oct 23

{ARC Review+Giveaway} Compulsion by @MartinaABoone @simonschuster

Compulsion is one heck of a read. I can see this book, and trilogy, appealing to so many different kinds of readers. It will appeal to fans of romance, mystery, as well as fans of creepy/dark books. It is labeled as a southern gothic. I can’t say that I have had too much experience in this particular genre, but if they are all like Compulsion, I need to start reading more of them. Compulsion was great. It had so many layers and such a depth to its’ story. You really had to pay attention or you would miss something. Compulsion really builds and builds so read each page carefully. A few times I felt myself getting swept up in the story and reading quicker and quicker to find out what was going to happen next and then before I knew it I felt a little lost, like I had missed something. The book actually started out that way for me. The name Mark was thrown around by the main character… Read more »