Paperback

The Encanto’s Daughter

By Melissa de la Cruz

Coming soon on March 5, 2024!

(4 / 5)

The Encanto’s Daughter is a young adult fantasy story that follows MJ, a teenage girl who has been living in our world but is actually half-encanto. After the death of her father, MJ must return to the fairy world of Biringan to take her place on the throne as Queen.

This story jumped right into action in the first chapter, with MJ trying to escape capture by insurgents from the fairy realm. Since she has been living in the human world, we are able to experience the wonder of Biringan through MJ’s eyes. She only has a matter of weeks to prepare for her coronation, so I enjoyed watching MJ transition from being a normal high school student to the leader of an island nation. This book has a sense of mystery to it, as MJ suspects that her father was actually murdered. It kept me wondering who MJ could and couldn’t trust. There’s also a bit of romance weaved in, although it’s less than I thought there might be. The Encanto’s Daughter is the first book in a duology, so I thought it did a good job resolving the issues presented in this book, while leaving a bit of a cliffhanger in the Epilogue to build anticipation for the next book. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the story continuing.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and BookishFirst for the free ARC copy of The Encanto’s Daughter! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

The Fury

By Alex Michaelides

Coming soon on 1/16/24

(4 / 5)

A celebrity invites some family and friends to a weekend away on her private island in Greece. While there, one of them is murdered, which means one of the other 6 people must be the murderer. But this isn’t your typical murder mystery.

The Fury is unlike any book I’ve ever read. From the beginning we know that a murder will take place, but we don’t know who the victim is, who the murderer is, or why it happens. The book feels almost like a memoir more than a fictional story. Our narrator is Elliot, one of the people on the island that night, recounting the tale some time later. From the beginning, the voice of this narrator felt unique and somewhat unreliable. Even when you think you have something figured out, it turns out there’s more to the story. The nonlinear timeline definitely adds to the mystery, but what this book really seems to be about is the characters more than the events that happen. Honestly, I was a bit unsure about this book in the beginning, but then it really pulled me in. I had a lot of theories along the way, but there are some big twists that I never saw coming.

All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own. Thank you to Celadon Books and BookishFirst for the free advance copy of the book!

January 2, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Paperback Thriller 0

Lunar New Year Love Story

By Gene Luen Yang & LeUyen Pham

Coming soon on January 9, 2024!

(5 / 5)

Lunar New Year Love Story is a graphic novel that follows a Vietnamese-American teen, Valentina, over the course of a year. According to her grandmother, her family has always been unlucky with love, and Valentina fears that she’s destined to the same fate.

I don’t usually read graphic novels, but this one caught my interest when I was able to get a sneak peek of the beginning. I’m really glad I gave it a chance, because I loved the story. The illustrations are great, conveying the emotions and personalities beautifully. While on the surface this book seems to be about Valentina trying to see if she is doomed to never find true love, there is so much more to it. It explores family relationships, friendship, grief, and finding forgiveness for past mistakes. Another central theme of the book is lion dancing, which is a hobby that Valentina starts and really enjoys. I enjoyed learning a bit about Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean cultures. I was really impressed everything about this book!

Thank you to MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group and BookishFirst for the free advance copy of Lunar New Year Love Story! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

December 29, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Paperback 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

The Way She Feels

By Courtney Cook

(5 / 5)

TW: self harm, suicidal thoughts, drug use

First off, I want to stress that this book is a memoir, so if you’re looking for a bunch of specific facts or advice about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), this might not be the book you’re looking for. I’m not a big nonfiction reader, so sometimes books that are very factual and clinical just don’t keep my attention. In The Way She Feels, Courtney Cook shares her personal experiences as a person with BPD. Obviously, not everyone with the condition will have the same experiences, but I appreciated the honesty and openness she shared about some very difficult-to-discuss experiences and behaviors that she had. I really liked the varied format of the book, with colorful drawings throughout. It made the book feel more inviting. Even more text-based stories in the book had illustrations, so it didn’t feel overwhelming. This book gave me a glimpse into her mind that helps me understand what a person with BPD might experience and feel. And I think coming out of this, you see that despite the obstacles she has faced, she is a person that feels and loves strongly. That things can get better even if your teenage years are rough. That so much of the stigma that media associates with BPD just isn’t accurate, and it’s not fair to only associate it with serial killers and “crazy”. And that even people from a good upbringing might have to face mental health challenges that aren’t their fault.

October 21, 2023 by danimae1981 Memoir Nonfiction Paperback 0

Thieves’ Gambit

By Kayvion Lewis

Coming Soon on September 26, 2023

(5 / 5)

After providing a First Impression review through BookishFirst, I was chosen to receive a free advance copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own and this review is voluntary.

This was a really fun book to read, with tons of action and twists along the way that I did not expect at all. The book had me hooked right from the beginning, where Ross, the main character, is in the middle of a heist with her mom. I never expected to like a character who is a thief, but I actually enjoyed Ross and several other characters in this book.

The book is told from the point of view of Ross Quest, who is really going out on her own for the first time, since her family has kept her pretty isolated beyond the heist jobs that they do. When Ross’s mom is kidnapped, Ross joins a competition called the Thieves’ Gambit, where teens compete for the chance to make a wish. Some of the competitors were likable right away, while others were more of a “love to hate”. It was interesting to see Ross’s relationships develop with the various characters.

Through the course of the competition, the contestants participated in multiple heists, so the action and thrills were endless in this book. The book was fast-paced and kept me engaged throughout. There’s some light romance along the way, but it’s really not the focus of the story. There were a few twists that I didn’t see coming at all, so it was fun to get some surprises along the way. It definitely didn’t end how I was expecting.

Overall, this was a well-written book, and I’m glad I had a chance to read it. I would love to see more from this author!

July 20, 2023 by danimae1981 Fiction Paperback Thriller Young Adult 0