Young Adult

MARS 30th Anniversary Edition 1

by Fuyumi Soryo

coming June 16, 2026

(4 / 5)

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

I had never read this manga before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I really wasn’t expecting was how intense it would be and how much it doesn’t shy away from some very serious topics. While it’s very much a high school drama, the characters had quite a bit of depth to them. Rei was an especially intriguing character. There were parts of him that were scary and reckless, but there was also something vulnerable about him beneath the surface. I feel like Kira and Rei are very different from each other, but they seem to bring out something good in each other. I also really liked the artwork! This edition includes the first two volumes of the manga, so at this point I feel pretty invested and want to know what will happen next.
CW: sexual harassment, suicide, previous death of a family member

Dreams of Ruin

Soul of Shadow #3

by Emma Noyes

coming November 17, 2026

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

Dreams of Ruin is the 3rd and final book in the Soul of Shadow series, and the books should definitely be read in order. I enjoyed the first two books, so I was really excited when I was able to get the advance copy of book 3. I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint, and I think it turned out to be my favorite book in the series! It just sucked me right in, and I couldn’t put it down. Scenes were beautifully described, and some almost felt like watching a movie. There were parts that even felt a bit like reading a fairy tale. Plenty of action along the way kept things exciting. I really liked seeing Charlie’s character develop in this book beyond what she already had in the first 2 books. I also loved getting some chapters from Elias’s point of view. The romance in this series has always had a magnetic pull to it, but in this one it felt downright electric. The book managed to surprise me multiple times while I was reading it, yet everything fit together really well. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

May 13, 2026 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

Shapes of Love

by L. V. Peñalba

Audiobook narrated by Mieko Gavia

coming May 19, 2026

(4 / 5)

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing free review copies of the eBook and audiobook of Shapes of Love! All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

Shapes of Love follows Sasha, a young adult musician who is aroace. While this isn’t your typical love story, I thought it was quite beautiful, showing love in many different forms. It was very diverse with several characters that were LGBTQ+, plus characters from different races and cultures. I felt like Sasha was a relatable character who portrayed being aroace in a positive light while still showing realistic struggles a person might have. I’ll admit that I hated seeing her hiding her true identity from her fans, but I also understood why she felt the way she did. I also like that she represented a person who is (probably) autistic very well. I loved watching her character grow over the course of the story. I enjoyed a lot of the side characters and seeing their journeys and interactions as well. At times the book felt a bit slow, especially at the beginning, but I didn’t notice it as much as I kept reading. There’s a lot of internal monologue, and it overall seems like a very introspective book. I think the book handled some interesting topics very well, and even kept some lighthearted humor along the way.

I had the opportunity to read the audiobook version of the book, and I thought the narrator did a great job. She used different voices for different characters, and even did accents for the characters who had them. I thought her delivery of the text added to my enjoyment of the book.

May 7, 2026 by danimae1981 Audiobook Fiction Kindle LGBTQ Young Adult 0

Meet Me at Midnight

by Brianna Bourne

coming June 30, 2026

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to Random House Children’s Books, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

I wasn’t quite sure what to think when I went into this book. I could pick up on some sad vibes right away, and the dreams Aria had were a bit surreal. But wow, this story really pulled me in. It was packed with emotions that I could feel along with the characters. I enjoyed the sense of mystery it had while we got clues about what had happened in the past. I liked Aria and Strat as the main characters, and really loved the dynamic they had with each other. But I think the thing I liked most was the message it had about facing reality versus escaping into dreams. I thought it was very insightful, and I loved watching these characters grow over the course of the story. While there were some aspects of this story that reminded me a bit of other books I’ve read, it had some truly unique elements that all fit together very well.

May 5, 2026 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

Our Aimless Nights, Volume 1

by Koumori

coming June 2, 2026

(4 / 5)

Thank you to Random House Children’s Books, Ink Pop, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of this book! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

This manga was really cute! There has such a sweet innocence to it with a strong “high school crush” feeling. Waya was a very relatable character for me since I am also a quiet person who doesn’t like to draw attention. It was nice to see Chika and Waya go from basically strangers to friends. I liked seeing Waya open up and even start to interact with other classmates a bit. The story in Volume 1 covers about a year, which surprised me. The time jumps weren’t always super obvious, but the setting indicated the changing seasons. A couple chapters were from the points of view of other characters, which felt a little random, but then again it’s probably setting up storylines for a series. I liked the artwork and was able to read the whole volume in a single sitting. This is a manga that I was like to continue reading.

May 1, 2026 by danimae1981 Comics/Graphic Novels eBook Fiction Young Adult 0

Royal Summer

by Kass Morgan

coming May 12, 2026 (audio available May 5, 2026)

(4 / 5)

I want to thank HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperAudio Children’s, and NetGalley for providing free review copies of the ebook and audiobook of Royal Summer. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

In Royal Summer, an American girl, Hannah, is supposed to be working abroad in Scotland with her favorite author for the summer. When her plans fall through, a prince, Finn, helps her get a new job at a castle.

I really liked this book! The story pulled me in easily from the start, and it kept my interest right through to the end. I loved how it could make me smile and laugh, especially when it came to the banter and interactions between Hannah and Finn. The romance between them was really sweet too. Hannah was a relatable narrator who had some tough things from her home life that she was dealing with. It was nice to see her character grow over the course of the story! I’ll admit, some of the situations seemed extremely unlikely to happen in real life, but it was still made a fun escape. There’s a bit of spice to this one… more than a lot of the YA that I read but not super graphic. The book is probably best suited to older teens and college age.

I was able to listen to the audiobook version of the book, and while it wasn’t bad, the narrator wasn’t my favorite either. I noticed that sometimes she had an accent where she dropped r’s, but it wasn’t consistant and didn’t feel like a good representation of Hannah’s voice. She also tended to pause unexpectedly in the middle of sentence, then not pause between sentences. A few words were also mispronounced (for example, double instead of doable). Since I was reading the ebook along with the audiobook, it’s possible that some of my complaints were more noticeable than if I was just reading the audiobook by itself.

April 24, 2026 by danimae1981 Audiobook Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

Stops Along the Way

by Anna Sortino

coming May 19, 2026

(3.5 / 5)

I want to thank Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

I liked this book for the most part – it was quick to read and pulled me out of an impending reading slump. I’m always up for a fun road trip, which was a big part of the story. There was a lot of disability representation since Iris, the narrator, had hearing loss and her sister, Amelia had vision loss. I liked that both of their disabilities were normalized while still showing some of the challenges they experienced. There’s also a pretty big gaming theme, which I thought was fun. The romance that developed was cute at first, but then things just felt confusing and changed quickly. I ended up losing interest in that part of the story by the end, especially since the pace changed and there was a jump in time. In the end, I think I would have liked to see a bit more character development with a less rushed ending, but the book did keep my interest pretty well along the way.

April 11, 2026 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

Seconds to Spare

by Rachel Reiss

coming May 12, 2026

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of Seconds to Spare! All opinions are completely my own.

Imagine you’re on a plane, flying over the Pacific Ocean, when the unthinkable happens… the plane goes into a freefall. Then imagine being stuck in a 28 minute time loop, repeating this scenario over and over hundreds of times. In Seconds to Spare, this is reality for Evelyn.

I really liked this book! As you can imagine from the description, this it’s packed with a range of emotions, from desperation and confusion to pure adrenaline. The descriptive nature of the book kept it very immersive, right down to the sounds you could hear in the background. Despite the 28 minute time loop, I was impressed that the story didn’t feel super repetitive. At first we’re getting snapshots from various loops that Evelyn experiences, with different conversions or actions. Then another character, Rion, wakes up for the first time and we start to experience more consecutive, full loops, but by then things actually started to feel more linear despite the key events that repeat each loop. There were a lot of side characters since we meet many of the other passengers on the plane, but I was able to keep track of the important ones without much effort. I liked Evelyn and Rion and seeing how they both evolve and grow over the course of this crazy scenario. I couldn’t help but root for them to survive and find a way to break the loop. I thought their emotions were portrayed very well in a way that made me feel like I was experiencing them. This book was a wild ride for sure, and I look forward to seeing more from the author in the future!

March 25, 2026 by danimae1981 Fiction Thriller Young Adult 0

The Demonic Inventions of Aurelie Blake

by Mara Rutherford

coming April 14, 2026

(3 / 5)

Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s Books and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

I’m so conflicted about this book… I enjoyed the first 75-80% of it and considered it a pretty solid 4 star read. But as I got closer to the end, I started to get frustrated with the direction things were going. The premise of demons appearing whenever something was created was unique, and I was curious to learn more about it. But at times I ended up feeling a bit confused by it and how it all came to be. The romance had tension and I was liking it, but then it started to feel like it was just moving way too fast, with Aurelie and Des acting in ways that didn’t seem to line up with what we knew of their characters previously. Honestly, I started to question what they saw in each other beyond a physical attraction. And speaking of out of character, there’s so much emphasis about Aurelie being really smart, yet sometimes she was frustratingly oblivious. There’s a pretty big reveal toward the end, which I had figured out long before that, and I found it hard to believe that Aurelie didn’t. Meanwhile, I had other questions that I was hoping to finally see explained, but they never were. I know this is the start of a series, so I’m not surprised that it leaves off with a bit of a cliffhanger and things still left to explore, but I was left underwhelmed enough with the ending that I’m not sure if I’ll continue on. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a bad book that I had a hard time finishing or anything like that. I guess it just didn’t quite go in the direction I was hoping it would.

March 8, 2026 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Escape Game

by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

coming April 7, 2026

(5 / 5)

I want to thank Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of The Escape Game! All opinions are completely my own.

The Escape Game was one of my most anticipated reads for 2026, so I was beyond excited to receive an ARC copy of the book. Marissa Meyer has been a favorite author of mine, and this book just sounded so interesting… escape rooms, reality TV, and a murder mystery? Plus a gorgeous cover? Yes please!

I went into this book with high expectations, and I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint. The writing kept me hooked, engaged, and constantly wanting to read more to see what would happen next. It was fast-paced, exciting, and just fun to read. A lot of the characters were quirky, and I felt like I could relate to each of the main characters in one way or another. The plot felt like it had good depth to it. I loved the idea of an escape room themed reality show, and it’s the type of thing I’d love to watch. It really had an escape room feel to it with great descriptions. Usually I didn’t have enough information to try to solve the puzzles myself, but it was fun to predict how the characters should approach it. The murder mystery and other mysteries in the story were pretty complicated. I was able to figure some of the things out, though sometimes not long before they were revealed. Others really kept me guessing and ended up surprising me. There’s plenty of clues along the way, but even then I was constantly second guessing. By the end the story feels pretty well wrapped up while still building anticipation for the next book. I can’t wait!