Thursday, February 4, 2021

Book Review | Laurel Everywhere by Erin Moynihan

Title: LAUREL EVERYWHERE
Author: Erin Moynihan
Publication: November 10th, 2020 by Ooligan Press 
Series: Standalone
Pages: 256
Genre: YA Contemporary
Copy*Note: I work for the publisher, Ooligan Press, as a student in the Book Publishing program at Portland State and received a copy for free as a result. Although I did not work on this book, I am extremely proud and excited about this release and highly encourage everyone to check it out!
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Laurel Summers couldn’t tell you the last words she spoke to her mother and siblings if her life depended on it. But she will never forget the image of her mother’s mangled green car on the freeway, shattering the boring world Laurel had been so desperate to escape. Now she can’t stop seeing the ghosts of her family members, which haunt her with memories of how life used to be back when her biggest problem was the kiss she shared with her best friend Hanna.

After the accident, Laurel and her dad are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Her dad is struggling with his grief and depression, unable to cope with the loss of his family. He seeks a way out of his pain, leaving Laurel behind while he struggles to cope with his own mental illness. She is desperate to find a way to hold everything together again and help her father come to terms with the loss so he can come back to her.

Laurel tries to make sense of her pain with the help of her grandparents, her two best friends, and some random strangers. As she struggles to understand who she is without her family, she must come to terms with the items on her List of Things Not to Talk About, learn to trust her dad again, and—on top of it all—keep her heart open to love in the wake of her immense loss, eventually learning that it’s okay to not be okay.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Can't Wait Wednesday | One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston


Book: 
ONE LAST STOP by Casey McQuiston

Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021 by St. Martin's Griffin

Why I'm Waiting: Casey McQuiston won me over back in 2019 with her new adult debut, RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE.  As a twenty-something, it's hard to find fun, relatable romances; however, RWRB absolutely exceeded my expectations.  It's funny, romantic, and everything I would want from a NA queer romance.

So as you can imagine, when McQuiston recently announced her new NA novel, ONE LAST STOP, I immediately added it to my TBR.  Another romantic comedy, this book features two hopeless romantics, a train stop meet-cute, and even some time travel??  Obviously, I will be counting down the days until I can have this book in my hands.

*Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight exciting new releases.  It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine*

Friday, November 9, 2018

Cover/Title Reveal | The Vortex Chronicles by Elise Kova

Hi everyone!  If you haven't yet heard, Elise Kova is releasing a new spin-off series for her best selling series, Air Awakens!  I am a huge fan of Elise, and I absolutely adore her Air Awakens series, so I'm incredibly excited for this new series.  I'm super happy to be able to share with you all the title, cover, and synopsis of the first book in the Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles series!

So first off, we have the title... and it is....

VORTEX VISIONS!

Isn't that badass!?  I'm super curious to find out what it means...
And next we have the synopsis:

SYNOPSIS:

A desperate princess, a magical traveler, and a watch that binds them together with the fate of a dying world.

Vi Solaris is the heir to an Empire she’s barely seen. Her parents sacrificed a life with her to quell a rebellion and secure peace with a political alliance. Now, three years past when her wardship should’ve ended, Vi will do anything to be reunited with her family.
The Empire is faltering beneath the burden of political infighting and a deadly plague. Yet, Vi can’t help but wonder if her inability to control her magic is the true reason her parents haven’t brought her home. Suspicion becomes reality when she unleashes powers she’s not supposed to have.
Powers that might well cost her the throne.
As Vi fights to get her magic under control, a mysterious stranger appears from across the world. He holds the keys to unlocking her full potential, but the knowledge has an unspeakable price — some truths, once seen, cannot be ignored.
All eyes are on her and Vi must make the hardest choice of her life: Play by the rules and claim her throne. Or, break them and save the world.


Ahhhh doesn't that sound amazing!?  I'm so freaking excited that we get to meet Vhalla's daughter, and she seems like she's going to live up to Vhalla's badass reputation.

Last but not least... it's cover time!

Monday, June 4, 2018

Book Review (ARC) | Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart

Title: Grace and Fury
Author: Tracy Banghart
PublicationJuly 31st 2018 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: First in Series
Pages: 320
Genre: YA Fantasy
Copy: ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Summary: Bold, brutal, and beautiful--a must-read fantasy full of fierce sisterhood, action, and political intrigue for fans of The Selection series, Caraval, and The Handmaid's Tale.

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace--someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.


Thursday, February 15, 2018

Book Review | Society of Wishes by Elise Kova & Lynn Larsh

Title: Society of Wishes
Author: Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh
Publication: January 29th 2018 by Silver Wing Press
Series: (Wish Quartet #1)
Pages: 230
Genre: NA Fantasy
Copy: Arc provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
SummaryFirst book in the Wish Quartet, a new-adult, urban fantasy series set in a near-future alternate reality

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

Josephina Espinosa makes her living as a hacker-for-hire in the Lone Star Republic, a remnant of the fractured U.S.A. That is, until the day she and her best friend are gunned down in a government raid.

With her dying breath, Jo uses magical lore passed down from her grandmother to summon a wish-granter. Her wish? To save her friend’s life. Except wishes have costs, and for Jo, the price is the erasure of her entire mortal existence.

Now, as the most recent addition to the mysterious Society of Wishes, Jo must form a new “life” alongside the seven other members, one of which being her savior himself. Living as an occupant of the Society’s lavish mansion should be quite the perk, but while it is furnished with everything its inhabitants could possibly need, it lacks one thing—freedom.

Her otherworldly identity crisis takes a backseat, however, when Jo learns that the friend she sacrificed everything for is headed down the same path to ruin. Jumping in head-first, Jo uses her newfound magical abilities to protect him, only to realize that the ripples of her actions have far-reaching consequences. When the Society’s aloof leader Snow decides to give her a taste of his own ancient magic, Jo discovers that there are threads woven into the tapestry of her new reality that reach far beyond the wishes she is now required to grant. Ones that, if tugged on, could mean the unraveling of the world itself.

Monday, January 15, 2018

Book Review | Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

Title: Love, Life, and the List
Author: Kasie West
PublicationDecember 26th 2017 by HarperTeen
Series: First book in a set of three standalones with crossover characters
Pages: 384
Genre: YA Contemporary
Copy: Bought
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.
Which is where the list comes in.
Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.


Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Book Review | Our Dark Stars by Audrey Grey & Krystal Wade

Title: Our Dark Stars
Author: Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade
Publication: January 2nd 2018
Series: Standalone
Pages: 316
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Copy: ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: While she sleeps, the whole universe changes.

Princess Talia Starchaser has it all. Wealth. Status. Adoring citizens. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to publicly betray her best friend, a companion mock she’s had since birth, setting events into motion that lead to the destruction of the humans, and the princess floating through space, a remnant of a time when humans ruled over droids.

One hundred years later, half-mock captain Will Perrault and his ragtag crew discover a device floating in space. When a very human Talia emerges from its depths, Will suspects she’s the key to buying his way back into the regiment he once commanded against the last remaining rebel humans—and the ruling mock queen’s good graces.

Both Talia and Will would rather get space-tossed than trust one another, but with the queen’s forces chasing them across the galaxy and the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance, they’ll forge the unlikeliest of alliances to survive.