Go Hex Yourself

Go Hex Yourself

by Jessica Clare

When Reggie Johnson responds to an ad to be the assistant to a Spellcaster, she assumes that the person in question is someone who works for the company that creates and publishes her favorite card game. What shes doesn't know is that spellcasters are real and she has managed to find an enchanted ad that lead her to this dotty old woman and her grumpy nephew.

Now Reggie must start believing in witchcraft and curses while learning to be the familiar of one of the most renowned witches to have lived. The grumpy nephew isn't happy with her being there but Reggie will convince him, ignore him, or both.

However, when a mysterious curse hits the family, all thoughts of not working together go out the window because only together can they solve the mystery and get that dotty old woman back on her feet.

Final thoughts: Cute book with a nice progression in the relationship between Reggie and Ben. Some of the other parts of the book have issues that were not resolved well, but I always like a book that shows instead of tells when it comes to romance.

Rating: 3/5

Warning: this is NOT a kids' book

How to Date a Superhero

How to Date a Superhero
(and not die trying)

by Christina Fernandez

Astrid is in her sophomore year of college working on her premed courses to someday become a doctor. It's not that she really wants to be a doctor but more that she feels she needs to really do something with her life after she almost died in high school when a supervillain attacked her school bus. 

Yup. That's right. Supervillain. In this alternate universe New York, superheroes and villains are everywhere and just a part of life.

When Astrid is kidnapped by a villain from her dorm room, Kid Comet saves her from a fate worse than death and just admits that he's really Max Martin, her boyfriend and the clumsy guy she's known since high school.

Now Astrid must add in to her very busy schedule time for The Program, which is designed to teach the significant others of superheroes how to survive all things that may happen to them when (not if) they are kidnapped.

If she can't find some balance in her life, Astrid may not survive college let alone the murderous rage of a supervillain intent on revenge.

Final thoughts: The idea of this alternate universe is cool. I would love to see how people who are in the world of the Avengers deal with all of the new complications in life. Unfortunately, this story is more about Astrid's personal issues dealing with time, planning, and over-scheduling. Some interesting ideas but just not enough world building for me.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are

Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are

by Kathryn Foxfield

 

It's possibly the last episode of the reality show It's Behind You and the producer needs to it be amazing so she locks five teens into a series of "haunted" caves with a diary cam and one cameraman to try and survive a night with the "Puckered Maiden". Those who last the night without trying to escape will share a $10,000 prize. 

Lex is determined to be the sole survivor of the night and take that money to travel the world. She needs to figure out ways to scare the other four teens to leave the caves early to help guarantee her win. Being the skeptic that she is, she figures that she can handle anything that the producer can throw at her.

But things aren't what they seem when some of the contestants have a history with the caves, the producer is trying to save her career, and it's possible there is something in the caves that no one had predicted.

As the night goes on, things go more and more wrong and a simple scary night turns deadly. 

Can the teens survive a journey that was just meant to scare them?

Final thoughts: Upon looking into this book for this review, I discovered that this is the exact same book as It's Behind You published by the author just a year and a half before this release date. I can't understand why the re-release with a different title. With regards to the book itself, it's pretty light and empty. The edits and shifts can be very confusing and the story and characters are just incomplete. It's rushed and feels like the outline for a movie or series treatment, as if Foxfield is trying to sell the premise to Netflix or a movie company to create a franchise. I got through it quickly but that was mostly because I was speed reading to get to the end instead of really getting involved in the story.

Rating: 2 (ish) out of 5

ARC from NetGalley

The Facts of Midlife

 

The Facts of Midlife

by Robyn Peterman

 

Of Cages and Crowns

Of Cages and Crowns

by Brianna Joy Crump

 

Monroe Benson was born with the gift of fire. As a Goddess Touched girl, Monroe is bond for the capital of her country once the prince comes of age. It is her fate to fight to the death to become the next queen of Erydia.

As one of ten girls, she is destined to either be queen or be dead.

While Monroe has no desire to be queen, she has no choice but to go to the capital and fight to live. As one with the mark of the Goddess, she must go and fight for the hand of the prince.

But it's not just the other nine girls that Monroe has to fear. The current queen and mother of the prince has really enjoyed the power of being in charge. Her husband is so afraid of her and her power that he has let her take complete control of the kingdom. Queen Viera's power is poison and she uses it on anyone and everyone. While she may be allowing this tradition to start, there is no guarantee that she'll allow it end on anything but her terms.

There is palace intrigue, battles for power, and a rebellion stirring and Monroe is caught in the middle of it all.

Final thoughts: I actually was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect but the characters are well done and it's almost all show and not tell, which is a rarity nowadays. There was some confusion with the physics of the world-building since it often felt like it was going back and forth between pre-tech and tech. It sometimes feel like everything is just candles and wagons, while there are also cars, trains, and they have electricity. Decent story and just kind of a fun read.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This May End Badly

This May End Badly

by Samantha Markum

When Weston and Winfield announce that they will merge and become co-ed, Doe is overwhelmed with feelings of anger and denial. Weston has been her home for the past three years and merging with the boys of Winfield could destroy everything that she loved about the school.

Her nemesis at Winfield is Three. When his cousin, Wells, offers her the chance to mess with Three, while also getting him an heirloom that Three has, Doe takes the chance. 

Even as she fake dates Wells, Doe works on pulling off the most legendary pranks against Winfield. This prank war has gone on for generations and Doe has pulled off many against Three and Winfield in her time at Weston and Doe hopes that maybe the prank war can stop the merger.

But the prank war and the merger aren't the most important things that Doe needs to focus on. There is a darkness lurking within Doe and within Doe's precious school.

Final thoughts: This was a pretty well done story. It was solid and Doe has a strong point of view. My only real complaints were that everyone and everything had a person's name (even the parents were referred to by their first names, making it often difficult to keep all of the characters straight) and one of the pranks was extremely dangerous but there were no real consequences. Otherwise, the story is solid and I believed Doe's growth over the course of the book. 

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I Speak Boy

I Speak Boy 

by Jessica Brody

After Emmy messes up a "meet cute" setup that she was making for her best friend and a boy at school, she ends up dunked in the dirty water of the "Enchanted Lagoon" at their school's first-ever carnival. Desperate to keep her phone from becoming permanently drowned, she drops it into a bag of expired rice. 

While waiting for her phone to recover, Emmy thinks over the disastrous night and wishes that she could understand the alien language of boys. 

Wish granted.

Once the phone is up an running, Emmy's translator app on her phone suddenly is no longer just "iSpeak" but "iSpeak Boy". Now everything that males of the species say, write, and draw can be translated in this handy little app, making Emmy the "Love Coordinator" of her middle school. She's helping girls figure out the boys they like and she's getting popular as she does it.

But not everyone likes what Emmy is doing and not everyone who likes what she is doing can be trusted.

Final thoughts: Modern day middle school retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. This is written for upper elementary and middle school students so that should be considered, but it really is cute and fun. 

Rating: 4/5

Untouchables

Untouchables

by Ivy Smoak

 

Before Midnight

Before Midnight

by Cameron Dokey

 

Rating: 3/5

How to Snag a Shifter

How to Snag a Shifter

by Karin De Havin 

Rating: 1/5 (AVOID THIS BOOK)

Wolf Girl Series

 

Wolf Girl

 

Lost Girl

 

Alpha Girl

Mated Girl

all by Leia Stone

Within These Wicked Walls

Within These Wicked Walls

by Lauren Blackwood

Andromeda is a debtera, hired to cleanse manifestations of the Evil Eye and create amulets to protect the wearers. Without a reference, Andromeda is forced to accept a job at a mansion with the worst manifestations seen for years.

Owned by the mysterious Magnus Rochester, the large house is filled with magic and manifestations to the point where no other debtera has succeeded in cleansing it. Not only are there spirits haunting every room and hallway, but there is a curse on the Rochester family.

As Andromeda starts working on cleansing each room in the house, she finds herself drawn to the owner of the house and his story. Over time, she wants more to cleanse the house for him instead of for the money he is offering.

But there is more to this curse than even Andromeda can fight and time is running out.

Final thoughts: This starts as a Jane Eyre retelling in Ethopia, but it goes rogue pretty soon so there really isn't much similar beyond the outlines. The magic is well done and many of the characters are interesting, but I found myself confused by the passage of time in the story and also by the Rochester character. Both time and the owner are distracting because they are inconsistent throughout. 

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

 

The Rumor Game

The Rumor Game

by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

 

Bryn, Cora, and Georgie are all seniors at the exclusive Foxham Prep, a school for the children of the political elite. All three have been raised to be the ideal children in their families and make their powerful parents look good. 

But Bryn had a very bad summer, which lead to her be essentially blacklisted at school and online. She has gone from the most popular and powerful girl at school to the bottom of every list. She's no longer invited to the best parties and she worries about how she will ever get back to the top. 

Georgie is Bryn's next door neighbor and she's had her own change in status since last spring. She went to a "fat camp" over the summer, lost 40 pounds, got a whole new wardrobe, and now is the "IT" girl of the school. She's also gone from unseen and ignored to one of the most talked about girls on social media at their school.

Cora used to be Bryn's best friend before that insane summer, but now she just wants to captain the cheer squad, get ready for college, and spend time with her boyfriend. 

These three girls will have a fall semester that they will never forget... and the Internet wouldn't let them forget even if they wanted to.

Final thoughts: The premise and the timeliness of the story are great, but the story itself is a little messy. Bryn is completely unsympathetic as a character, despite occasional efforts to make her seem like she's lost control of things. Cora is ok, but her actions at the end are highly questionable and even a little mean. Georgie is the most sympathetic, but things still aren't quite right there. The online events are completely realistic and sad since people can be so cruel. The offline events get a little weird and unbelievable. Overall, this is probably best avoided.

Rating: 2/5 (maaaayyybbbeeee 2.5)

ARC from NetGalley

These Deadly Games

These Deadly Games

by Diana Urban

Crystal and her friends are MortalDusk gamers with a streaming following and a real chance at winning the tourney for a cash prize. For Crystal, that prize means helping her mom keep her house so there's a reason she needs to be on that team and win.

Right now, there's a competition within her team to get one of the five spots allowed in the tourney and Crystal is behind. MortalDusk is all she is focusing on.

But all that suddenly doesn't matter when she gets a text on a mysterious app that has appeared on her phone. The app has control of everything and it shows a video of Crystal's little sister tied up in a dark room along with the hand of someone holding a very big knife. 

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

The game starts with a few "innocent" pranks, but soon turns deadly.

Crystal needs to save her sister, but is she willing to risk the lives of her friends and MortalDusk teammates? 

Final thoughts: This horror/thriller YA novel has a solid premise and some good moments, but also some WTF ones. If she's on a timer and needs to get some place fast, why does she suddenly stop and chat with her friends? The provides some exposition and character development, but doesn't fit with the structure overall. The app creator and game "host" is pretty obvious early on and the flashbacks are dead giveaways to the why, but it still has some interesting events. This is another one of those books that feels like it's meant to be sold for screen rights.

Rating: 3/5

ARC from NetGalley

The Last She

The Last She

by H.J. Nelson

(I can't write about this... I had to rant instead)

There's Someone Inside Your House

There's Someone Inside Your House

by Stephanie Perkins

It all started with an egg timer. 

It shouldn't have been on the porch. 

Once inside, it was put back on the counter.

The butter knife in the sink was suddenly in the dishwasher.

But now the egg timer is on the floor? 

Back on the counter. 

Must be tired. Time for a nap.

The next thing heard was the ticking of the egg timer on the nightstand right before it went off. 

And that's how the story of the serial killings in Osborne, Nebraska begin.

The killer is everywhere and making himself known in the little things that no one notices like misplaced gym clothes and open cupboards. 

When things start going missing or are moved to strange places, don't think you're crazy... Think of HIM. 

 

Final thoughts: Decent horror story with some really grisly deaths. It feels like it was written to be made into a movie, which (HEY!) it IS! Netflix made it and it's set to be released sometime this year. The overall plot is pretty standard and fairly predictable. The killer's motive is a little ridiculous, but it's all tidy at the end. 

Rating: 3.5/5 rounding up to 4 for simplicity 

Hush

Hush

by Dylan Farrow

Shae lives in a time of banned books. They are banned, not because of the words but because of the ink on the page. The Ink is the cause of a terrible plague known as "The Blot" so books and writing have been banned everywhere in the country of Montane.

After Shae's little brother catches and dies from The Blot, Shae and her mother are virtually exiled and ignored by most of the town. They are pariahs in their own town.

When Shae starts seeing things around her and accidentally making things happen, she fears that she has contracted The Blot and seeks help from the Bards who control the magic of the land. 

Before she can get their help, her mother is murdered and the town covers it up by saying it was a landslide. This is the final straw for Shae and she runs away to find the Bards to save her from her curse and to find her mother's murderer.

What she finds outside of her tiny town is much more than she ever could have believed.

Final thoughts: Another good premise that is poorly done. The world and characters just aren't built well. The plot is pretty predicable and the hidden villain is really pretty obvious. I feel like this was only published because of the author and not because it's actually good. Not worth the read and not worth going to the next book in the series.

Rating: 2/5

Scythe

Scythe

by Neal Shusterman

When Scythe Faraday walks into the lives of Citra and Rowan, they have no idea how their lives will change. 

They live in a time of immortality and perfect living. No one has pain. No one has hunger. No one has to suffer any longer. The AI takes care of everything and everyone knows that. 

But with immortality comes the possibility of future overpopulation, so the Scythes were created to "glean" the people and keep the numbers from becoming overwhelming.

Some Scythes are thoughtful and methodical, taking only those whose may harm others in the future, even if only accidentally. Others are more merciful, seeking out those who look to be tired of their permanency. 

And other Scythes feel the power too much, seeking to cause as much chaos, fear, and even pain as they go about their "duty".

Now Citra and Rowan are being trained to be future Scythes and their views of everything they thought to be true will be challenged like never before.

Final thoughts: Decent read. I'd give the story itself a 4 for the plot, but the missing expository elements like how are people entertained and kept physically/mentally challenged? Why do people not know all of their history if they have so much time to study it? Where is the darn speech-to-text feature so that people know how to pronounce old words correctly?

Rating: 3/5

Stargirl

Stargirl

by Jerry Spinelli

Leo was just an ordinary kid in an ordinary high school doing ordinary things until Stargirl danced into his life. 

From the start, everyone knew she was different. From her clothes, to her daily class routines, to her ukulele, and even her pet rat, Stargirl was not ordinary. 

At first, she was odd but ignorable. Later, she became the center of everything. And finally, she became a pariah and scapegoat. But no matter what, Leo saw her. 

Less than one school year with Stargirl was enough to change their world forever.

Final thoughts: I have seen this read in middle schools for years and figured it was about a middle school student; I was shocked to find out this was about juniors in high school. The writing is simple and pretty easy to read, so this book is coming off more of a hi-low title. The entire book reads like middle school fiction so I can see why it's read there. I feel like that affects how I read the whole thing. Additionally, the author lets you know from the start that this will not be a happy ending, especially for Stargirl. That darkness looms over the whole book and makes it very difficult to enjoy her character. How can you be happy about someone when the author/narrator keeps telling you things will not be ok? The message is good and I see why some people like this book, but it just wasn't for me.

Rating: 2/5

A Good Day for Chardonnay

 A Good Day for Chardonnay

by Darynda Jones

It's about four months after the events of A Bad Day for Sunshine and Sunny finally seems to be able to have a real life outside of her sheriff-ing duties. She's even going on dates. Granted, they are blind dates that are set up by her parents with men who really aren't her type, but it's a start. Right?

Things get a little crazy when her best friend calls her in a panic over a wild raccoon at his cabin. 

They get a little more crazy that same night when there's a stabbing at the bar of the man that Sunny has been crushing on since she was around four years old (and he was about 6).

Things get even crazier when a cold case from Sunny's past ends up back on her radar.

And, on top of all that, the mayor is holding things over Sunny's head if she doesn't solve the mystery of the legendary group who is thought to run the town.

If only there was some time to just sit back and get a drink!

Final thoughts: I love all Darynda Jones books and this one is no exception. She's got a special writing voice that just makes me jealous. I wish I could come up with these comebacks in a few months, let alone the seconds the characters have to say them. I got a little confused by the Dangerous Daughters subplot as it was mentioned in the beginning and resolved near the end, with nothing in the middle. I feel like either I missed something or something was just missed. Additionally, one HUGE peeve was the use of c*&t in the book. It's just once (at least in this ARC) but it seriously pulled me, more accurately, YANKED me right out of the book. That is such a harsh word and its use was in a place that was the exact opposite of the connotation I usually feel for that word. I hope it gets changed before the final book is released.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

 

Every Single Lie

Every Single Lie

by Rachel Vincent

Living in a tiny town means that there are no secrets, but there are always rumors.

When Beckett finds a tiny, dead preemie in the girls' locker room at her high school, a big secret is revealed and rumors run rampant.

Now the town is suddenly wondering who the mother is, what happened, and if Beckett herself is in the middle of it all.

When a new Twitter account starts sharing details that no one else should know, it gets followers from around the world and peaks the interest of local and national news.

Now Beckett is in the center of a firestorm and feels like no one can be trusted.

 

Final thoughts: Almost too real in today's world. Beckett's life has been pretty harsh during the last year, but it's all realistically built and not unbelievable at all. The boyfriend angle was resolved a little oddly, but the rest was solid.

 

Rating: 4/5

Wild Sign

Wild Sign

by Patricia Briggs

When the entire population of a tiny town in California goes missing, it doesn't seem like something Charles and Anna would need to investigate. After all, it's not even in their state.

However, it turns out that the land that those missing people had settled on belongs to the mate of their pack Alpha and that means it is their business to find out what happened those those forty people. 

Taking an SUV and accompanied by the berserker werefolf, Tag, the three head down to forest in the middle of nowhere to solve a mystery.

What they didn't anticipate was coming across more than one type of mythical creature, nor did they think that one of those creatures would find Anna to be just what it needed to reach its goals.

Final thoughts: This is one of the better Anna/Charles books, but I really do prefer the Mercy Thompson series. I found it interesting that this story had a few answers to questions fans have posed for a while. The ending was a little odd, which I will go into in my spoiler-filled podcast.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Podcast review/discussion MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D Stories

National Virtual Library - Idea

National Virtual Library - Idea

Just a thought I was having.

Five Ways to Fall Out of Love

 

Five Ways to Fall Out of Love

by Emily Martin

Aubrey Chase is a pessimist who thinks of herself as a realist. Based on her parents' dying marriage, Aubrey believes that there's not much point to love since all she sees is breakups and fighting.

Across the street lives Webster. Just when Aubrey was ready to give love a try, Webster stands her up for Homecoming and then embarrasses her in front of the school. Over a year later and they still wage a daily battle to tick the other one off. 

But there's still a little something there. 

There's also Webster's cousin who might be able to show Aubrey that love can be more than the end of the relationship; it can be the beginning, too.

Now there's a triangle and Aubrey is more confused about relationships than ever.

Final Thoughts: I was not a fan of this one. The characters were pretty flat and the story just didn't flow well. I finished the book but not with the satisfaction of reading a good story. 

Rating: 2/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.