Book Review: Finale by Stephanie Garber

Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Read: May 24th-26, 2019
Publisher: Flatrion Books
Series: Caraval, #3
Format: ARC, 496 pages
Source: McNally Robinson Booksellers

Description from GoodReads:

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

Book Review: All the Wandering Light by Heather Fawcett

Release Date: December 4th, 2018
Read: March 11th-12th, 2019
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray
Series: Even the Darkest Stars, #2
Format: Hardcover, 488 pages
Source: Won

Description from GoodReads:

After the terrifying events on Mount Raksha, the witches have returned, and River has betrayed Kamzin to regain his dark powers. The witches’ next step: march on the Three Cities and take over the Empire—led by River’s brother, Esha.

If Kamzin is to save Azmiri and prevent the fall of the Empire, she must find a star that fell in the Ash Mountains to the north. Fallen stars have immense power, and if Kamzin and Lusha can find the star, they can use its magic to protect the Empire. To get there, Kamzin has allied with Azar-at, the dangerous and deceptive fire demon, who can grant her great power—in exchange for pieces of her soul. But River wants the star too, and as their paths collide in dangerous and unexpected ways, Kamzin must wrestle with both her guilt and her conflicted feelings for the person who betrayed her.

Facing dark magic, a perilous journey, and a standoff against the witches, can Kamzin, Lusha, and Tem find the star and save their Empire?

Book Review: Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau

Release Date: February 12, 2019
Read: November 23rd, -24th, 2018
Publisher: First Second
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: Won in giveaway

Description from GoodReads:

   Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band―if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Book Review: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Release Date: April 2nd, 2019
Read: March 31st - April 11th, 2019
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Series: Something Dark and Holy, #1
Format: ARC, 385 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

   A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

   A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 

   Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

   In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.

Book Review: Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Release Date: September 4th, 2018
Read: January 2nd-3rd, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Series: Market of Monsters, #1
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

   Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” Until her mom brings home a live specimen and Nita decides she wants out; dissecting a scared teenage boy is a step too far. But when she decides to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold in his place—because Nita herself isn’t exactly “human.” She has the ability to alter her biology, a talent that is priceless on the black market. Now on the other side of the bars, if she wants to escape, Nita must ask herself if she’s willing to become the worst kind of monster.

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.