#BookReview: Half-Blood (Covenant, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is.

If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

#BookReview: The Forbidden Wolf King (Kings of Avalier #4) by Leia Stone

Axil Moon broke my heart when I was fifteen and I’ve dreamed of getting revenge ever since.
So when he becomes the king of all Wolven and summons me to compete for his hand in
marriage in the deadly Queen Trials, I gladly accept. I want nothing more than to defeat the
competition and leave him cold and alone when I slam the bedroom door in his face every
night.

Axil Moon will regret the day he thought he could discard me and get away with it.

But the Axil I expect isn’t the one waiting for me. This grown Axil is different from the teenage boy I loved. This Axil begs me to believe it was never his choice to leave me, and my heart is torn. Now I have to try and stay alive in order to see what could be between us, but all the while there is an enemy in our midst and war on our border that could overturn the world as I know it, and all I can do is fight to keep that world alive.

The Forbidden Wolf King is book FOUR of FOUR in the Kings of Avalier series. It's a full-length standalone fantasy romance that focuses on the Wolf King Axil Moon.

#BookReview: Our Fault (Culpable, #3) by @mercedesronn

From internationally bestselling author Mercedes Ron comes the English translation of the final book in the hit Culpable series, a delicious and angsty enemies-to-lovers romance in which Noah falls for the boy who's leading a hidden double life under his family's nose.

Nick and Noah's rocky relationship is struggling through its worst moment, and it seems that nothing can go back to the way it was before. They will have to surmount a new and frightening set of challenges to finally understand if they are really made for each other or if being apart is their only chance to be happy.

Love is not always enough, and forgiveness sometimes doesn't fix what's been broken. But can you forget such a strong connection? How can memories tattooed on the heart be erased? Will they be able to leave the past behind and start over?

#BookReview: A Thousand Boy Kisses (Boy Kisses, #1) by @authortilliecole

One kiss lasts a moment. But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime. One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe. 

When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation? Rune's heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come. 

A stand-alone young adult tearjerker romance, recommended for ages fourteen and up.

#BookReview: Face the Night by @laniverse_rising

On a harsh frontier where good and evil contend for people's minds, a young woman must fight for her true identity in this scintillating YA fantasy from the author of the award-winning Age of the Seventh Sun trilogy.

Once, Catriona Macgregor led a charmed life. Daughter of a wealthy rancher, pretty and educated, she looked forward to all the world had to offer--until fate took a turn. Now family, home, and even her name have been stripped away. As "Black Cat Whitfield," adopted daughter of an outlaw, she's wanted by the authorities. It certainly wasn't the destiny she imagined--especially as one of the Blessed.

The Blessed, rare people like Cat, are supposed to use their gifts to carry out missions for the Patron Saints, but she can only imagine that Saint Prudentia made a terrible mistake in choosing her. Still, her gift has never deserted her. Whenever danger threatens, Cat receives a vision--just in time to save her life. And when she meets a renegade priest, Father Ignatius, he helps her understand how her ability may be part of a much bigger picture. A picture that involves facing up to the monstrous Baron Caldwell - the one who ordered her parents killed - and his son, Adrian, who betrayed them all.

Cat is torn between guilt over her parents' death, a longing for vengeance against their killers, and a dismaying new interest in Adrian. It would be easiest to flee the whole situation and never look back. But as someone once told her, you can't outrun the darkness on your heels. There's only one way to break through to sunrise - by turning to face the night.

#BookReview: Saint (The World of the Narrows, #0) by @adrienneyoungbooks

As a boy, Elias learned the hard way what happens when you don’t heed the old tales.

Nine years after his lack of superstition got his father killed, he’s grown into a young man of piety, with a deep reverence for the hallowed sea and her fickle favor. As stories of the fisherman’s son who has managed to escape the most deadly of storms spreads from port to port, his devotion to the myths and creeds has given him the reputation of the luckiest bastard to sail the Narrows.

Now, he’s mere days away from getting everything his father ever dreamed for him: a ship of his own, a crew, and a license that names him as one of the first Narrows-born traders. But when a young dredger from the Unnamed Sea with more than one secret crosses his path, Elias’ faith will be tested like never before. The greater the pull he feels toward her, the farther he drifts from the things he’s spent the last three years working for.

He is dangerously close to repeating his mistakes and he’s seen first hand how vicious the jealous sea can be. If he’s going to survive her retribution, he will have to decide which he wants more, the love of the girl who could change their shifting world, or the sacred beliefs that earned him the name that he’s known for―Saint.

Author Adrienne Young returns to the world of The Narrows with Saint, a prequel to Fable and Namesake.

#BookReview: Of Cages and Crowns (The Culled Crown, #1) by @briannajoyc

Destined to compete for the throne, Monroe Benson must fight nine girls for the right to rule. If she wins, she will be crowned queen. To lose is to die.

Monroe Benson is marked and goddess-touched, one of ten heirs to the Erydian throne. When the next Culling is announced, she has no choice but to prepare to fight for her life against nine other marked girls. When the competing heirs begin to drop dead outside of trials, Monroe must decide if her fire ability is enough to protect her from a new unseen enemy. Can she survive the Culling and take the throne, or should she kill the queen and dismantle the competition from the inside? In a palace of lies and power-hungry court members, Monroe must be careful who she trusts.

#BookReview: The Last Huntress (Mirror Realm #1) by @lenoreborja_author

Alice Daniels has a problem. Her reflection keeps misbehaving when she looks in the mirror--and the longer she ignores it, the harder it tries to get her attention. On her eighteenth birthday, she learns why: she is a huntress, someone gifted with the power to enter mirrors and the magical world that exists beyond. But with this power comes immense responsibility, for in the Mirror Realm lurks an evil that has infected the human race for centuries: demons. It is up to her and her three huntress sisters--with the help of one handsome and overbearing protector--to hunt and banish this evil one demon at a time, thereby keeping the chaos in check. But when an ancient god pays Alice a visit that turns deadly, it is clear the Mirror Realm is more than it seems, and she soon finds herself in a race against time to save the life--and soul--of the one man the gods are determined to never let her have.

The Last Huntress is a story of redemption and sacrifice, the bonds of true sisterhood, and the impossible, sometimes frightening, things we'll do for love.

#BookReview: Silver in the Mist by @avictoriantale

"A fast-paced fantasy for fans of complicated families, lush magic, and beautiful friendships." — Linsey Miller, author of Mask of Shadows

Eight years ago, everything changed for Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Whisperer of Aris, the head of the spies, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.

Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in. The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.

Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true.

#BookReview: The Luminaries (Luminaries, #1) by Susan Dennard

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

#BookReview: Dark Tides (Kingdom of Bones, #2) @kimberly.vale

When love is an anchor, the sea can swallow you whole.

Csilla Abado has a full plate after becoming the first Queen of Bones. While leading Cerulia, sending fleets to hunt for Dominic Rove, and recruiting new crews to the cause, she must also find a way to mend the lingering crack between Limbo and the mortal realm. Otherworldly creatures are spilling through, threatening more than just the island kingdom. When Lorelei and Nara go missing, the crew takes sail once again to find them and stop the worst of the villains, Magnus, before he can slip through the crack. As their leader, Csilla takes every decision head-on, but her sister's death weighs on her, and if she doesn't learn to let go, she could end up alone in her fight.

After the events at Crossbones, Kane Blackwater is desperate to find the traitorous Dominic Rove, but when his desperation sends him to Death's Cove, he's met by creatures that should be locked away in Limbo. He returns to Cerulia with this knowledge and an evil, magic-laced wound that’s slowly seeping through his body. When Lorelei suddenly goes missing, he joins the search, but his time is running out and he must decide what's more important to him: her life or his own.

Lorelei Storm isn't the same since her return from the realm of Limbo. A menacing and powerful magic rests under her skin, and she fears it as much as she craves its potential. She tries to keep this secret from her found family, but when she accidentally hurts someone, she finds she can no longer hide her ability. She flees only to be caught, alongside Csilla’s first mate Nara, by an Incendian Scout and taken as prisoner. But Lorelei finds out the scout is also an emberblood, and if she must, she will use her enemy to learn how to control her powerful new magic.

Jaron Thorne was raised to hate and hunt pirates. Becoming his fire god's champion and wielding his obsidian sword has given him even more purpose in ridding the kingdoms of every last pirate. Fighting runs through his veins, but when Magnus's whispers send him to steal away the only living stormblood, he ends up taking an extra captive: an archer whose frosty demeanor intrigues him as much as he hates it. But as he learns more about the world he thought he knew, Jaron must learn to control his inner-flames or risk burning down everything around him, including his chance of finding his lost brother.

As the war between gods and mortals builds to a crescendo, Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei must not only protect their world from destruction, but also their hearts from looming devastation. The seas darken and not everyone will survive the rising tides.

#BookReview: Princess of Souls (Hundred Kingdoms #2) by @alexandrachristowrites

From the author of To Kill a Kingdom comes Princess of Souls, a Rapunzel-inspired YA fantasy romance about a teen witch groomed to steal souls for an immortal king and the reckless, rebellious boy to whom her fate is tied.

For sixteen years, Selestra Somniatis has been trapped in a castle on the Floating Mountain, preparing to take her mother’s place as King Seryth’s right hand. Tied by blood to steal souls for the immortal King of the Six Isles, the Somniatis Witch foretells the deaths of participants in the Festival of Predictions. To outrun your fate is to save your soul and steal the King’s immortality. But if you die, your soul is forfeit. And though thousands have tried, nobody has ever beaten death.

As a soldier in King Seryth’s army, Nox Laederic is an unlikely candidate for the Festival, but he has no plans to die at the hands of the King or his witches. His plan is more akin to violent revenge: steal the King’s immortality and kill the entirety of his court, starting with Selestra herself.

But when Selestra touches Nox in her very first prediction, she sees her own death alongside his--their fates are unmistakably intertwined, and Selestra is no longer safe in the only home she’s ever known. Nox and Selestra will have to enter a turbulent alliance in order to survive long enough to free the Six Isles from King Seryth’s clutches and escape the new fate that hunts them.

#BookReview: Scions (Starcrossed, #4) by @josephine_angelini

A prequel to the bestselling Starcrossed series.

New York City, 1993. It wasn’t Daphne’s choice to move into the heart of a struggle that has been secretly waging for thirty-three hundred years, but not much in her life has been up to her. Fate has brought Daphne, daughter of Zeus, and Heir to the House of Atreus to where the descendants of the Greek gods can shed blood over her once again. 

Men are fated to kill for her. 

But New York holds a surprise for Daphne and her cursed face—the same one that once launched a thousand ships. A series of murals painted all over town mysteriously pull at her in ways she can't understand. That’s because the artist is Ajax Delos, Son of Apollo, Scion of the House of Thebes, and Daphne’s mortal enemy.

She found the one worth dying for. 

With the Fates manipulating them both like pieces on a chessboard, Daphne and Ajax must find a way to break the cycle of destruction set in motion by their ancestors before the walls of Troy, or risk becoming yet another pair of star-crossed lovers doomed to repeat the same fatal mistakes.

#BookReview: The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze

Cross into the spirit realm with this thrilling supernatural debut about sisterhood and female defiance, perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco— inspired by lives of real teenage twin mediums in the 19th century.  

"Deliciously chilling and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful.”
—Nina LaCour, Printz Award–winning author of We Are Okay

Sacramento, 1885  

Edie and Violet Bond know the truth about death. The seventeen-year-old twins are powerful mediums, just like their mother—Violet can open the veil between life and death, and Edie can cross into the spirit world. But their abilities couldn’t save them when their mother died and their father threatened to commit them to a notorious asylum.   
 
Now runaways, Edie and Violet are part of a traveling Spiritualist show, a tight-knit group of young women who demonstrate their real talents under the guise of communing with spirits. Each night, actresses, poets, musicians, and orators all make contact with spirits who happen to have something to say. . . notions that young ladies could never openly express. But when Violet’s act goes terribly wrong one night, Edie learns that the dark spirit responsible for their mother’s death has crossed into the land of the living. As they investigate the identity of her mysterious final client, they realize that someone is hunting mediums…and they may be next.Only by trusting in one another can the twins uncover a killer who will stop at nothing to cheat death.

#BookReview: A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass

#1 New York Times bestselling author of The Selection series Kiera Cass is back with her most epic novel yet—a sweeping enemies-to-lovers standalone romance.

“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”

Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.

Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.

But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart. 

Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets.

#BookReview: Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by @rati_mehrotra @wednesdaybooks

To learn what she can become, she must first discover who she is.

Katyani’s role in the kingdom of Chandela has always been clear: becoming an advisor and protector of the crown prince, Ayan, when he ascends to the throne. Bound to the Queen of Chandela through a forbidden soul bond that saved her when she was a child, Katyani has grown up in the royal family and become the best guardswoman the Garuda has ever seen. But when a series of assassination attempts threatens the royals, Katyani is shipped off to the gurukul of the famous Acharya Mahavir as an escort to Ayan and his cousin, Bhairav, to protect them as they hone the skills needed to be the next leaders of the kingdom. Nothing could annoy Katyani more than being stuck in a monastic school in the middle of a forest, except her run-ins with Daksh, the Acharya’s son, who can’t stop going on about the rules and whose gaze makes her feel like he can see into her soul.

But when Katyani and the princes are hurriedly summoned back to Chandela before their training is complete, tragedy strikes and Katyani is torn from the only life she has ever known. Alone and betrayed in a land infested by monsters, Katyani must find answers from her past to save all she loves and forge her own destiny. Bonds can be broken, but debts must be repaid.

#BookReview: Prince of Song & Sea (Prince, #1) by Linsey Miller

For fans of Twisted Tales and Villains is a brand new YA series that retells the classic Disney stories you thought you knew from the Disney Princes' perspectives.

Before Prince Eric’s mother, the Queen of Vellona, went missing two years ago, she reminded him about the details of the deadly curse that has plagued his entire life. The curse? If he were to kiss someone other than his true love, he would die. With a neighboring kingdom looking for any excuse to invade their shores, and rumors of ghost pirates lurking the seas, Eric is desperate for any information that may help him break his enchantment and bring stability to Vellona. The answers he has been searching for come to him in the form of a letter left from his mother that reveals Eric must find his true love, the one with a voice pure of heart,or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.

Now Eric is on a quest to find the Isle of Serein, the witch's legendary home. But after he is rescued by a mysterious young woman with a mesmerizing singing voice, Eric’s heart becomes torn. Does he enter a battle he is almost certain he cannot win or chase a love that might not even exist? And when a shipwrecked young woman with flaming red hair and a smile that could calm the seven seas enters his life, Eric may discover that true love isn’t something that can be decided by magic.

#BookReview: The Restless Dark by @ericawatersbooks

Enter Cloudkiss Canyon at your own risk.

The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones.

Lucy was almost the serial killer’s final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide.

All of them are looking for answers, for a new identity, for a place to bury their secrets.

But there are more than bones hiding in the shadows…sometimes the darkness inside is more frightening than anything the dead leave behind.

Perfect for fans of Sadie and Wilder Girls, this newest novel from Erica Waters follows three girls at a true-crime contest to find the bones of a lost killer—even as a mysterious force pulls at the contestants’ darkest desires.

#BookReview: Defend the Dawn (Defy the Night #2) by @brigidkemmerer

To save their kingdom, they must embark on a dangerous journey...

The kingdom of Kandala narrowly avoided catastrophe, but the embers of revolution still simmer. While King Harristan seeks a new way to lead, Tessa and Prince Corrick attempt to foster unity between rebels and royals.

But the consuls who control the Moonflower will not back down, and Corrick realizes he must find a new source for the lifesaving Elixir.

When an emissary from the neighboring kingdom of Ostriary arrives with an intriguing offer, Tessa and Corrick set out on an uncertain journey as they attempt to mend their own fractured relationship.

This could be their only chance to keep the peace and bring relief to the people of Kandala, but danger strikes during the journey to Ostriary, and no one is who they seemed to be...

#BookReview: Direwood by Catherine Yu

In this velvet-clad 1990s gothic horror, Aja encounters a charming vampire who wants to lure her into the woods—just like her missing sister.

No one ever pays attention to sixteen-year-old Aja until her perfect older sister Fiona goes missing. In the days leading up to Fiona’s disappearance, Aja notices some extraordinary things: a strange fog rolling through their idyllic suburban town, a brief moment when the sky seems to rain blood, and a host of parasitic caterpillars burrowing their way through the trees. Aja’s father, the neighbors, and even her ex-friend Mary all play down this strange string of occurrences, claiming there must be some natural explanation. It seems everyone is willing to keep living in denial until other teens start to go missing too.

Aja is horrified when she meets Padraic, the vampire responsible for all the strange occurrences. His hypnotic voice lures her to the window and tells her everything she’s longed to hear—she’s beautiful and special, and he wants nothing more than for Aja to come with him. Aja knows she shouldn’t trust him, but she’s barely able to resist his enthrallment. And following him into the woods may be the only way to find Fiona, so she agrees on one condition: He must let her leave alive if she is not wooed after one week. Though Aja plans to kill him before the week is out, Padraic has his own secrets as well.

In the misty woods, Aja finds that Padraic has made his nest with another vampire in a dilapidated church infested by blood-sucking butterflies. Within its walls, the vampires are waited on and entertained by other children they’ve enthralled, but there is no sign of Fiona. Before her bargain is up, Aja must find a way to turn her classmates against their captors, find her sister, and save them all—or be forced to join the very monsters she wants to destroy.