#BookReview: From Dust, a Flame by Rebecca Podos

Synopsis: Hannah’s whole life has been spent in motion. Her mother has kept her and her brother, Gabe, on the road for as long as she can remember, leaving a trail of rental homes and faded relationships behind them. No roots, no family but one another, and no explanations.

All of that changes on Hannah’s seventeenth birthday when she wakes up transformed, a pair of golden eyes with knife-slit pupils blinking back at her from the mirror—the first of many such impossible mutations. Promising that she knows someone who can help, her mother leaves Hannah and Gabe behind to find a cure. But as the days turn to weeks and their mother doesn’t return, they realize it’s up to them to find the truth.

What they discover is a family they never knew, and a history more tragic and fantastical than Hannah could have dreamed—one that stretches back to her grandmother’s childhood in Prague under the Nazi occupation, and beyond, into the realm of Jewish mysticism and legend. As the past comes crashing into the present, Hannah must hurry to unearth their family’s secrets—and confront her own hidden legacy in order to break the curse and save the people she loves most, as well as herself.

This title will be released on March 8, 2022.

#BookReview: Daughter by Kate McLaughlin @AlterKates

Synopsis: Scarlet’s life is pretty average. Overly protective mom. Great friends. Cute boy she’s interested in. And a father she’s never known – until she does.

When the FBI show up at Scarlet’s door, she is shocked to learn her father is infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. And now, he’s dying and will only give the names and locations of his remaining victims to the one person, the daughter he hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

Scarlet’s mother has tried to protect her from Lake’s horrifying legacy, but there’s no way they can escape the media firestorm that erupts when they come out of hiding. Or the people who blame Scarlet for her father’s choices. When trying to do the right thing puts her life in danger, Scarlet is faced with a choice – go back into hiding or make the world see her as more than a monster’s daughter.

Kate McLaughlin’s Daughter is a novel about trying right deadly choices that were never yours to begin with.

This title will be released on March 8, 2022.

#BookReview: Extasia by Claire Legrand

Synopsis: **One of BuzzFeed's Great LGBTQ+ YA novels to Warm up Your Winter**

From New York Times bestselling author Claire Legrand comes a new, bone-chilling YA horror novel about a girl who joins a coven to root out a vicious evil that's stalking her village. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid's Tale and The Grace Year.

Her name is unimportant.

All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain--an evil which has already killed nine of her village's men.

She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove.

Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother's shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?

This searing and lyrically written novel by the critically acclaimed author of Sawkill Girls beckons readers to follow its fierce heroine into a world filled with secrets and blood--where the truth is buried in lies and a devastating power waits, seething, for someone brave enough to use it.

This title will be released on February 22, 2022.

#BookReview: Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil

Synopsis: From debut author Carolyn Tara O'Neil comes a thrilling alternate history set during the Russian Revolution.

Russia, 1918: With the execution of Tsar Nicholas, the empire crumbles and Russia is on the edge of civil war—the poor are devouring the rich. Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible—not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna's offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war.

Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now—regardless of her loyalties—Evgenia is too.

Daughters of a Dead Empire is a harrowing historical thriller about dangerous ideals, loyalty, and the price we pay for change. An imaginative retelling of the Anastasia story. 

This title will be released on February 22, 2022.

#BookReview: Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe

Synopsis: The only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the magic on the island and the spirits who inhabit it. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal, and her crush, Miles, will finally see her. Now that she’s eighteen, Mae knows her time with the Prospers may soon come to an end.

But tonight is First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends return to the island to celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she’s always wanted.

When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae starts to realize that things aren’t what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers – including a secret about Mae’s past that she doesn’t remember. As Mae and her friends begin to unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on.

Forbidden magic, a family secret, and a night to reveal it all... 

#BookReview: Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales by Mhara Starling

Synopsis: The history of magic and witchcraft in Wales will inspire any modern-day witch. Written by a Welsh practitioner, this book shares the magical traditions of the land of the red dragon, exploring deities, fairies, folklore, charms, plants, and magic with dozens of exercises for hands-on practice.

Explore the history and terminology of Welsh magic and methods for honoring the land. Learn to connect with Cerridwen, Rhiannon, and other deities as well as fairies and mystical creatures. Discover how you can incorporate traditional Welsh folk magic into your modern witchcraft practice, with exercises for honoring those who came before, connecting with the spirit of your home, protecting against adversity and malignant spirits, changing the weather, and much more.

#BookReview: Am I Allergic to Men? (The Callaghan Sisters #5) by Kristen Bailey

Synopsis: You think you’ve got it bad? I lost my memory, I’m so single I’ve basically got an allergy to men, and my own cat despises me.

‘Lucy! If you can hear me, squeeze my hand!’

That’s the first thing I hear when I wake up in hospital. Then my sister drops a bombshell: I’ve been in a coma.

It gets worse. In my head, it’s 2009 and I’m seventeen. Somehow, I need to remember the last decade…

Plan A: Track down my exes. Highlights include a one-night stand with someone in a Batman costume, and balcony sex that gave the neighbours a nervous breakdown.

Plan B: Get flirty. Lowlights include a fling with someone hairier than a yeti.

Plan C: Figure out why I have more exes than underwear. Am I allergic to men?

As I piece together my past, I find a mysterious note: Oscar, 9th February. Determined to work out what it means, I uncover a secret I’ve been hiding from everyone.

When the truth comes out, will my memory return? Will I get my life back? And will I ever find the cure to my singledom?

You’ll laugh so much your abs ache! The perfect page-turner for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and TV shows like Schitt’s Creek.