Book Review: Nocturna by Maya Motayne

Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Read: April 12th-17th, 2019
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Series: A Forgery of Magic, #1
Format: ARC, 480 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

To Finn Voy, magic is two things: a knife to hold under the chin of anyone who crosses her…and a disguise she shrugs on as easily as others pull on cloaks.

As a talented faceshifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever.

After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But Alfie can’t help but feel that he will never live up to his brother’s legacy. Riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.

But when Finn and Alfie’s fates collide, they accidentally unlock a terrible, ancient power—which, if not contained, will devour the world. And with Castallan’s fate in their hands, Alfie and Finn must race to vanquish what they have unleashed, even if it means facing the deepest darkness in their pasts. 

Book Review: Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Release Date: April 30th, 2019
Read: April 29th-30th, 2019
Publisher: Putnam
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 320 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:  

   * She's landed a job at Magic Castle Playland . . . as a giant dancing hot dog.

   * Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou's never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.

   * Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who's always been up for anything, suddenly isn't when it comes to Lou's quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou's scheme to get close to Nick.

   * And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland--ever--unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.

Book Review: Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid

Release Date: April 30th, 2019
Read: April 26th-28th, 2019
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

The summer after senior year is not going as eighteen-year-old Lu Charles expected: after her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her, Lu can’t write a single word, despite the fact that her college scholarship is tied to her columnist job at hip online magazine Misnomer. Then, she meets Cal.

Cal’s ever-practical girlfriend Iris is looking ahead to her first year of college, and her plans do not include a long-distance boyfriend. When Lu learns that Cal and Iris have planned to end their relationship at the end of the summer, she becomes fascinated and decides to chronicle the last months the couple will spend together.

The closer she gets to the couple, the more she likes them, and the more she wants to write about them. The summer unfurls, and Lu discovers what it really means to be in love. On the page, or off it. The book is touching exploration of love and how it shapes us both during a relationship and after it has ended.

Review: The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu

Release Date: April 9th, 2019
Read: March 28th-31st, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Series: The Eldest Curses, #1
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

Magnus Bane, a centuries old High Warlock, has taken possession of one of the great relics of the supernatural world, a powerful spell book of dark magic known as The Book of the White and there are many who want to claim it for themselves.

After the Mortal War where the part-human and part-angel Shadowhunters teamed with the part human-demon Downworlders to fight against the incursion of an army of demons, Magnus and his new lover, the mortal Alec Lightwood celebrate their survival and victory by escaping the supernatural battlefield of New York City by touring the world, but the world won’t leave them alone.

Blog Tour: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

   Hello and welcome to the Bloodleaf blog tour hosted by Raincoast Books. I'm so excited to introduce you to this fantastic new fantasy series! And so, I hope you enjoy my tour stop. 

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Release Date: March 12, 2019

Read: March 10th-14th, 2019

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Series: Bloodleaf, #1

Format: ARC, 384 pages

Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life? 

Book Review: The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

Release Date: September 25th, 2018
Read: January 14-18th, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Iskari, #2
Format: Signed Hardcover, 400 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. Roa and Essie called it the hum. It was a magic they cherished—until the day a terrible accident took Essie’s life and trapped her soul in this world.

Dax—the heir to Firgaard’s throne—was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa’s people had suffered.

Roa made him a deal: she’d give him the army he needed if he made her queen. Only as queen could she save her people from Firgaard’s rule.

Then a chance arises to right every wrong—an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa discovers she can reclaim her sister for good.

All she has to do is kill the king.

Book Review: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Release Date: February 26th, 2019
Read: February 8-10th, 2019
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 336 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

How do you kill a god?

As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.