Young Adult

A Fragile Enchantment

By Allison Saft

Coming soon on January 2, 2024!

(4.5 / 5)

A Fragile Enchantment is a young adult fantasy romance with a historical feel to it. We follow Niamh, a common girl from Machland who has the ability to stitch emotions into fabric. A talented dressmaker, her creations have received enough attention that she is asked to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in Avaland. The groom is Prince Christopher, more commonly known as Kit, who has a questionable past, abrasive personality, and is obviously not marrying by choice. As Niamh and Kit begin to bond, it creates a complicated situation while political unrest builds in Avaland.

I really enjoyed reading this book… it was so immersive and hard to put down, that I found myself reading well into the night. Niamh was a likeable character who cared deeply about the well-being of her family and those around her. Though life at the palace was a very foreign world for her, she was dedicated to her work and made friends along the way. Her relationship with Kit was quite complicated, but I liked how much they challenged each other and brought out the best qualities in each other. Both of these characters showed a lot of growth over the course of the story. The political undertones made the story even more complex, and it had me guessing as to what secrets lurked beneath the surface. It was one of those books where I was sad when it came to an end because I had enjoyed it so much.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of A Fragile Enchantment! Opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

Draw Down the Moon

By P.C. Cast; Kristin Cast

Available April 2, 2024

(3 / 5)

It’s a modern-day world where magick exists, but only for a small portion of the population who are Moonstruck. Mundanes (non-magickal people) do not even know it exists. In our story we meet Wren, who is Mundane but knows of the magickal world because her late parents were part of it, and Lee, Wren’s best friend who is magickal. Recently graduated, Wren is fine with being Mundane. But the moment she turns 18, everything changes for Wren, and now she’s attending a magickal school with her friends, Lee and Sam. On the surface it seems like an amazing place, but the more she learns, the more Wren realizes that something is very wrong here. Meanwhile Lee is under a lot of pressure from his family to excel.

I really wanted to love this book, but for some reason it just didn’t grab my attention like I hoped it would. It felt like something was missing for me, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. In the end, I think it might just be written for a younger audience than other books I usually read. I will say that it gets more interesting as the story goes on. It’s the first book in a duology, so it’s pretty obvious there’s still more left to this story when the book ends. I’m curious about where things will go next.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the free advance review copy of Draw Down the Moon. All opinions expressed in my review are solely my own.

December 10, 2023 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

These Deadly Prophecies

By Andrea Tang

Coming soon on January 30, 2024!

(5 / 5)

These Deadly Prophecies brings us to a modern world where sorcery is a viable career option. Our narrator, Tabatha, loves the occult, and is the apprentice of Sorcerer Solomon, one of the most well-known sorcerers in eastern America who specializes in prophecies. Unfortunately, Sorcerer Solomon prophesized his own death, and the book begins where his life ends. But who murdered Sorcerer Solomon?

I was absolutely enthralled with this book. I loved Tabatha as the narrator of this story, giving her account of what happened. Her narrative is engaging and full of excitement. At times she addresses the reader directly, which makes the story feel even more real. I think the fact that Tabatha is not originally from the sorcery world makes her very relatable to readers, explaining the intricacies of sigils, spells and traditions.

This book really takes on the feel of a murder mystery, as Tabatha teams up with Solomon’s youngest son, Callum, to try to find out who committed the murder. This book had me making my own theories then changing my mind as I learned more, just like the characters did in the book. The book really kept me guessing until the very end when everything was revealed. I enjoyed the interactions between Tabatha and Callum and enjoyed both characters a lot. There’s also a cast of side characters who are diverse and add to the charm of the story.

I felt like this book was very well written. It was nearly impossible to put down, and I ended up staying up until 2am to finish the story – once I got so far into the book, I just couldn’t wait until the morning to find out the solution to the mystery and how things would end. I’ll be seeking out more books by Andrea Tang for sure!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the free advance copy of These Deadly Prophecies. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and all opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

November 11, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Mystery Young Adult 0

The Invocations

By Krystal Sutherland

Coming soon on January 30, 2024

(3.5 / 5)

The Invocations is a young adult fantasy story that dives into the occult, witchcraft and demons in the modern world while also trying to solve a murder mystery. It follows three 17-year-old girls, Zara (who is looking for a witch to help her resurrect her sister), Jude (who is suffering from a bad invocation) and Emer (an invocation writer). I was a bit unsure if I would like these characters in the beginning, but I liked them more as I learned more about them and their situations. I found Zara to be the hardest to relate to since I didn’t understand her obsession with raising the raising the dead. Jude turned out to be my favorite character.

I enjoyed the writing style of this author, with great descriptions and a lot of complexity to the characters and occult practices. I don’t typically read horror books, so this one was a bit more gruesome than I’m used it, but I wouldn’t call it scary. At times the story felt a bit slow and drawn out, but I felt like the second half of the book had a better pace and definitely had a lot more action. About halfway through the book, I started to have a hunch about who was behind the murders, and I mostly turned out to be right. I was a little disappointed that I was able to figure it out so early on, though there were still some surprises along the way.

I think that my biggest dislike about the book is that it has a very anti-male feel to it. Men are considered aggressive, abusive, etc, which is why women need the invocations to protect themselves. Given, many of the women in the story faced abusive or terrible situations, but I think the story was a bit too extreme in portraying men as evil and something women had to fear. I’m all for strong female characters, but this book took it farther than I would have preferred.

Thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for the free copy of The Invocations in return for my honest review.

October 30, 2023 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Horror Mystery Paperback Young Adult 0

Sneak Peek: The Encanto’s Daughter

By Melissa de la Cruz

Releasing on March 5, 2024

First Impression: (5 / 5)

I had the opportunity to read the first 37 pages of The Encanto’s Daughter, which is scheduled to be released next March. I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover and interesting description, but I’m even more interested in this book now that I’ve had the chance to read the first chapters. The action begins quickly, and then we are swept away into the fantasy world of Biringan. While MJ, the main character, is royalty from this world, she has been living as a normal person for as long as she can remember. This makes her very relatable, and readers can experience the newness of this world through her eyes. I would love to continue reading this book!

October 23, 2023 by danimae1981 eBook Fantasy Fiction First Impression Young Adult 0

Sneak Peek: These Deadly Prophecies

By Andrea Tang

First Impression: (5 / 5)

I had the opportunity to read the first few chapters of These Deadly Prophecies, which will be releasing in February 2024. A modern-day sorcerer has been murdered, and now his apprentice, Tabatha and youngest son, Callum are going to try to figure out who is responsible.

The premise of this book sounded interesting, and from what I’ve read so far, I think it’s a book I’d really enjoy reading. Written from Tabatha’s point of view, it almost feels like you’re a friend that she’s telling her story to. The sorcery and murder mystery aspects are interesting and make me want to keep reading. I want to find out who the murderer is!

October 11, 2023 by danimae1981 eBook Fiction First Impression Young Adult 0

A Pretty Implausible Premise

By Karen Rivers

(4 / 5)

On the surface this looks like just a YA romance, but it really takes an emotional journey through guilt, loss, and forgiveness. Both of the main characters are going through their own versions of this. Hattie’s mom left when she was just a child, and now she has given up on competitive swimming after a little boy drowned during her lifeguard watch. Presley’s twin brother was killed in a car accident that left him with injuries that ended his figure skating career and put their father in prison. There’s also parallels between Hattie and Presley’s stories and a book that Hattie is obsessed with, which we are able to read excerpts of throughout the book – a story within the story. I really liked both of the main characters. I think they felt realistic and relatable.

The book did feel a bit slow, especially at the beginning. About the first 3rd of the book is just the first day of school, and while it was setting up the backstories and framework, I could see some readers losing interest in this part. The ending of the book is much faster paced. For me personally, the book kept my attention, and I was able to read almost the entire book in a day. The romance wasn’t quite as “insta-love” as the description made it sound, which I was actually glad about.

I received a free copy of A Pretty Implausible Premise through the Amazon Vine program, but all opinions in my review are uninfluenced and my own.

October 10, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Hardcover Romance Young Adult 0

The Space Between Here & Now

By Sarah Suk

Coming soon on October 31, 2023

(4.5 / 5)

The Space Between Here & Now was unique because the main character, Aimee, has a fictional condition called Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, which causes her to physically disappear and relive memories. Unlike most time travel stories, she is not able to change anything, she’s just an invisible observer. While not common, the condition is known by the general public, but not understood very well.

We meet Aimee as a 17-year-old high school senior in Canada. Her mom disappeared when she was just 6, and her relationship with her father is strained. Recently her disappearances have become more frequent, making her afraid to really live her life because she doesn’t know when it might happen again. Plus, her memories are revealing information about her mother that she didn’t realize before. In order to learn more about her mother, she travels to Korea during Spring Break to see what she can find out.

While STWS is fictional, the stigma and feelings associated with it could be applied to many conditions in our real world. I think it’s a good lesson for all of us to have empathy for others who are different from us instead of dismissing them as weird or giving them unwanted attention.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked Aimee, and it was interesting to experience her rare condition through her eyes. There’s a lot of looking at family relationships and how they change over time. There’s a sense of mystery as Aimee tries to figure out what happened to her mother. A little bit of romance mixed in. And the setting in Korea was interesting, beautiful, and gave insight into Korean culture. I enjoyed watching Aimee grow over the course of the story, and I liked that things didn’t always turn out quite how I was expecting.

Thank you to HarperCollins Childrens Books, Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Space Between Here & Now. All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

October 7, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

Sneak Peek: One Last Breath

By Ginny Myers Sain

Coming March 5, 2024

First impression: (4 / 5)

I was able to read the first few chapters of One Last Breath. From what I read, the book seems to flow well and holds a sense of mystery. The story follows Tru, who has tried to learn everything she can about 2 girls from her small town that were murdered 20 years ago. She seems to have some kind bond with one of the girls, so there’s a spooky feeling to the story. So far there’s a lot of questions and I’d love to see where this book leads. I’m interested to find out about this double murder and also about what happened to Tru’s sister, Dani.

September 27, 2023 by danimae1981 eBook Fiction First Impression Young Adult 0

Woke Up Like This

By Amy Lea

Coming soon on October 1, 2023

(4 / 5)

Woke Up Like This was my September early access pick through Amazon Prime First Reads. I often pick a book and save it to read later, but this one caught my interest enough that I decided to read it right away.

The main character of this book is Charlotte, who is only weeks away from graduating high school. She is hoping for the perfect experience to end high school, especially a memorable prom. She’s a planner and takes charge. But she feels like her nemesis, J.T. Renner, is out to ruin everything for her. Honestly, at the beginning of the book it felt like Charlotte was a bit immature and was unfairly putting the blame on J.T. for everything that didn’t go right for her. I was afraid that this book might be a little too “high school drama” for me. But I kept going and it did improve. There were definitely some funny moments, especially when Charlotte wakes up and is suddenly 30 years old.

An interesting theme in this story was the “coming of age” look at teens vs adults – Charlotte thinks adulthood will be fun because there won’t be curfews and you can do what you want, plus you’ll have all the answers. But then once she experiences life as a 30-year-old, she sees that that’s not necessarily the case. Also, it’s important to appreciate the present, because you really can’t predict how things might change in the future.

Overall, this was a fun, quick read that kept me wanting to read more. While the book might be more directed towards a younger audience, there were some things that Charlotte learned along the way that spoke to me personally.

September 21, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0