#BookTour: Star-Touched Stories by @Roshani_Chokshi with Q and A!

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Death and Night

He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes. 

Poison and Gold

Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love. 

Rose and Sword

There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth?

#BookReview of Willowgrove: A Hemlock Novel by @kathleenpeacock

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: Willowgrove is Kathleen Peacock's riveting conclusion to the Hemlock trilogy, a dark, romantic, paranormal suspense series that pits friendship against survival, and trust against love.

Ever since Mac's best friend, Amy, was murdered, Hemlock has been a dangerous place. But now that Mac, her boyfriend, Kyle, and Amy's ex, Jason, have investigated a mass breakout from Thornhill, a werewolf "rehabilitation" camp, the danger has only grown. Fear of the infection spreading is now at an all-time high, and anyone with a scar is suspected of being a wolf.

What makes Mac even more afraid, though, are the dark experiments that the warden of Thornhill was performing on wolves in a secret asylum called Willowgrove. Uncovering the truth about what happened may be the only way for Mac to save everyone she loves and end her nightmares for good.

#BookReview of In a Split Second by Sophie McKenzie

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Thriller, Romance

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: 2:02...2:01...2:00

What the hell was this? I stared at the numbers, numb with horror. The box was a bomb. And it was going to go off in two minutes.

Charlie's life is torn apart by a terrorist bomb in a London market. Months later she meets Nat, whose family has been left devastated by the same explosion. But as Charlie gets closer to Nat she starts to wonder if he knows more about the attack than he is letting on...

Life can change in the blink of an eye - whether you're ready or not. 

The new bestseller from the award-winning Sophie McKenzie.

#BookReview: Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book:

A note from Jade Leighton's journal Years ago, a tragic accident robbed me of my mother and emotions. Because I find beauty in darkness and thrive outside social norms, I've been labeled a "freak" at school. I know my continued apathy hurts my loved ones, but I'm not about to change. Nothing will ever hurt me again.Then I wake up in an alternate reality...and everything else has changed. Goth is in. I'm considered cool, and my archenemy--the formerly popular Mercedes--is the freak. But my real friends won't talk to me...and the new boy is getting under my skin. As my world spins out of control, I'm desperate to return to normal. But the more time that passes, the less I'm sure what "normal" really is.


This title will be released on September 4, 2018.

#BookReview of Most Likely to Succeed by @jenniferechols

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: As vice president of Student Council, Kaye knows the importance of keeping order. Not only in school, but in her personal life. Which is why she and her boyfriend, Aidan, already have their lives mapped out: attend Columbia University together, pursue banking careers, and eventually get married. Everything Kaye has accomplished in high school—student government, cheerleading, stellar grades—has been in preparation for that future.

To his entire class, Sawyer is an irreverent bad boy. His antics on the field as school mascot and his love of partying have earned him total slacker status. But while he and Kaye appear to be opposites on every level, fate—and their friends—keep conspiring to throw them together. Perhaps the seniors see the simmering attraction Kaye and Sawyer are unwilling to acknowledge to themselves…

As the year unfolds, Kaye begins to realize her ideal life is not what she thought. And Sawyer decides it’s finally time to let down the facade and show everyone who he really is. Is a relationship between them most likely to succeed—or will it be their favorite mistake?

#BookReview of Little Peach by @peggy_kern

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary, Dark

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: What do you do if you're in trouble?

When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options. 

Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels. 

But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition. 

This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive.

#BookReview: The Girl with More Than One Heart by Laura Geringer Bass

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Recommended Age: Middle Grade 

Genre: Contemporary 

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book:

There are times we all feel we need more than one heart to get through. When Briana’s father dies, she imagines she has a new heart growing inside her. It speaks to her in her Dad’s voice. Some of its commands are mysterious. 
 
Find Her!  it says. Be Your Own!  
 
How can Briana “be her own” when her grieving mother needs her to take care of her demanding little brother all the time? When all her grandpa can do is tell stories instead of being the “rock" she needs? When her not-so-normal home life leaves no time to pursue her dream of writing for the school literary magazine? When the first blush of a new romance threatens to be nipped in the bud? Forced by the loss of her favorite parent to see all that was once familiar with new eyes, Briana draws on her own imagination, originality, and tender loving heart to discover a surprising path through the storm.  

#BookReview of Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: HarperCollins

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: #1 New York Times bestseller Maria Dahvana Headley’s soaring sky fantasy Magonia is now in paperback!

Since she was a baby, Aza Ray Boyle has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn’t think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found by another. Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—but as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. In Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

#BookReview of Boundary by Heather Terrell

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Soho Teen

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: After surviving the Hunger Games-like Testing, Eva becomes the Aerie’s first female Archon. The second installment of the Books of Eva continue the harrowing struggle between past and present, Aerie and Boundary.

Eva is the first Maiden in Aerie history to train as an Archon: a sacred leader of the New North. All eyes are watching as she prepares to uncover the Relics of the evil past. Wounds remain: both from the harrowing Testing and the murder of her brother, Eamon. But she has learned to feign grace. And although she is betrothed to Jasper, she carries a secret. Lukas, a Boundary dweller and former servant, still visits her in the dead of night. And he alone may know who killed her twin brother.

Her feelings for Lukas are forbidden. Even more troubling is his conviction that she is the Angakkuq, a mystical figure destined to destroy the Aerie. Eva tries to focus on finding Eamon’s killer, but on her very first Archon expedition, she uncovers the Genesis: the legendary ship that brought the Founders to the New North. What they find in the Genesis upsets the fragile balance between the Aerie and the Boundary, and threatens to destroy their entire civilization. Eva’s world is shattered, but she may be the only one who can—as both Archon and Angakkuq—prevent a war that would take everything from her.

#BookReview: Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert with Spoilers

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher:  Little, Brown Books 

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Genre: Contemporary

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book:

Since she was seven years old, Yvonne has had her trusted violin to keep her company, especially in those lonely days after her mother walked out on their family. But with graduation just around the corner, she is forced to face the hard truth that she just might not be good enough to attend a conservatory after high school.

Full of doubt about her future, and increasingly frustrated by her strained relationship with her successful but emotionally closed-off father, Yvonne meets a street musician and fellow violinist who understands her struggle. He’s mysterious, charming, and different from Warren, the familiar and reliable boy who has her heart. But when Yvonne becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she has to make the most difficult decision yet about her future.

#BookReview of Quake: A Pulse Novel by Patrick Carman

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Science Fiction

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: In the year 2051, Faith can move mountains…

Faith Daniels and Dylan Gilmore are in love, and they have a special ability called a pulse: they can move things with their minds. They're caught in the middle of a deadly war with two other pulses: Clara and Wade Quinn, who have joined forces with Hotspur Chance, the most wanted man in the world.

At the start of Quake, Faith and Dylan are holed up in a spectacular abandoned mountain lodge (once used in the film The Shining 71 years before), and their Intel friend Hawk leaves them in the middle of the night, in spite of a newly blossoming love with a girl named Jade. Hawk’s plan is to penetrate the Western State and make contact with a sleeper cell working on the inside that will give them valuable information about Hotspur’s violent plan.

But while Hawk is searching for answers on the inside, Faith and Dylan are still fighting on the outside. In a series of hair-raising battles, the second pulses duel it out, only to raise the body count on both sides. During the battles, Faith and Dylan discover an even great strength: the power of their combined love. Together, Faith and Dylan might just be able to save the world with a quake that is big enough to change the course of history.

#BookReview: Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy #1) by @sebastian_lk @DelacortePress

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Genre: Fantasy 

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book:

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

#BookReview of The Bargaining by @CarlyAnneWest1

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: The fact that neither of her parents wants to deal with her is nothing new to Penny. She’s used to being discussed like a problem, a problem her mother has finally passed on to her father. What she hasn’t gotten used to is her stepmother…especially when she finds out that she’ll have to spend the summer with April in the remote woods of Washington to restore a broken-down old house.

Set deep in a dense forest, the old Carver House is filled with abandoned antique furniture, rich architectural details, and its own chilling past. The only respite Penny can find away from April’s renovations is in Miller, the young guy who runs the local general store. He’s her only chance at a normal, and enjoyable, summer.

But Miller has his own connection to the Carver House, and it’s one that goes beyond the mysterious tapping Penny hears at her window, the handprints she finds smudging the glass panes, and the visions of children who beckon Penny to follow them into the dark woods. Miller’s past just might threaten to become the terror of Penny’s future….

#Giveaway: Broken Sky Chronicles Set by @jchabotauthor @TurnerPub

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Turner

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Genre: Dystopian/Fantasy 

About the Book:

In the epic conclusion to Jason Chabot's Broken Sky Chronicles, Elia is a fugitive, on the run from the Imperial Guards, who have launched a city-wide manhunt and offered a reward for her capture. 

Hokk is also on Elia s trail one step behind and all too aware of the mortal danger she is in. 

Elia possesses evidence that could topple the oppressive monarchy, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to know who is an enemy and who is an ally in the quest to overcome those who have wrought misery in the realms of Above and Below. 

As their worlds drift ever farther apart, Elia and Hokk will have to decide where it is they truly belong and what it means to be reunited.

#BookReview of My Heart and Other Black Holes by @jasminewarga

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary, Mental Health

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner. 

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.

#BookReview of The Adventures of Phatty and Payaso: Central Park by Marie Unanue

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: iUniverse

Recommended Age: Middle Grade

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: Phatty the cat loves nothing more than spending his days balanced atop his favorite chair gazing out his windows at Central Park below. Everything is simply fan-tabby-lous until one day when the meanest hawk in the park lands on his terrace and makes a terrifying announcement that he is coming for Phatty and his furry little friends. When Phatty decides he is tired of being a scaredy-cat, he jumps into a laundry bag and escapes to Central Park to stop Crawler the bully hawk once and for all. But his unplanned operation goes horribly wrong when he finds himself alone and lost in the park. When his best friend, Payaso, realizes his partner in crime is missing, he teams up with several animals to find Phatty. As the band of furry pals set out on a hilarious journey, they quickly realize that if they put aside their differences and work together, it might just be enough to save a lovable undercat—and each other. In this animal adventure novel, a cat on a mission to stop a bully hawk must face his fears all alone in a scary park while a group of unlikely friends attempts to rescue him.

#Giveaway: Broken Sky Chronicles set by @jchabotauthor @TurnerPub

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Turner Publishing 

Recommended Age: Young Adult 

Genre: Dystopian

About the Book:

The epic adventure continues. . .

Hokk is a criminal outcast who has been scavenging the bodies that fall from the sky to Below for meagre treasures to help him survive.

 Elia hails from the floating kingdoms in the skies of Above, where the islands' edges are borders no one dares to cross except for the ritual burials that send their dead to Below. 

Together, these teens embarked on a quest to return to the homes they've lost-but now their journeys have diverged, and their futures are more uncertain than ever. 

Without Hokk, does Elia have any hope of returning to Above and rescuing her family? 

Without Elia, will Hokk become just another lost soul roaming the endless plains of Below? 

#BookReview of The Darkest Warrior by @genashowalter #popuptour @BookSparks

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Harlequin HQN

Recommended Age: Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: A searing Lords of the Underworld tale by New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter, featuring a beastly prince and the wife he will wage war to keep.

He is ice...

Puck the Undefeated, host of the demon of Indifference, cannot experience emotion without punishment, so he allows himself to feel nothing. Until her. According to ancient prophecy, she is the key to avenging his past, saving his realm, and ruling as king. All he must do? Steal her from the man she loves—and marry her.

She is fire...

Gillian Shaw has suffered many tragedies in her too-short life, but nothing could have prepared the fragile human for her transition into immortality. To survive, she must wed a horned monster who both intrigues and frightens her...and become the warrior queen she was born to be. 

Together they burn.

As a rising sense of possession and obsession overtake Puck, so does insatiable lust. The more he learns about his clever, resourceful wife, the more he craves her. And the more time Gillian spends with her protective husband, the more she aches for him. But the prophecy also predicts an unhappily ever after. Can Puck defeat fate itself to keep the woman who brought his deadened heart back to life? Or will they succumb to destiny, losing each other…and everything they’ve been fighting for?

#BookReview of Monsterland Reanimated by @iammichaelokon

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: WordFire Press

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: After Monsterland has been destroyed, the entire world is thrown into chaos. Wyatt Baldwin and his friends must go beyond the boundaries of their small town to reestablish contact with the outside world. During their journey they discover a new threat released from the bowels of the defunct theme park. The danger of werewolves, vampires and zombies pale in comparison to an army of relentless mummies, Vincent Conrad’s reanimated monster and the menace of a life-sucking ooze they call The Glob.  Wil Wyatt and his friends survive when they reenter the scariest place on earth?

#BookReview of Melmoth by Sarah Perry

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Custom House

Recommended Age: Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Historical

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book: For centuries, the mysterious dark-robed figure has roamed the globe, searching for those whose complicity and cowardice have fed into the rapids of history’s darkest waters—and now, in Sarah Perry’s breathtaking follow-up to The Essex Serpent, it is heading in our direction.

It has been years since Helen Franklin left England. In Prague, working as a translator, she has found a home of sorts—or, at least, refuge. That changes when her friend Karel discovers a mysterious letter in the library, a strange confession and a curious warning that speaks of Melmoth the Witness, a dark legend found in obscure fairy tales and antique village lore. As such superstition has it, Melmoth travels through the ages, dooming those she persuades to join her to a damnation of timeless, itinerant solitude. To Helen it all seems the stuff of unenlightened fantasy.

But, unaware, as she wanders the cobblestone streets Helen is being watched. And then Karel disappears. . . .