KIND OF A BIG DEAL By Shannon Hale

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

KIND OF A BIG DEAL By Shannon HaleKind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale
Published by Roaring Brook Press on 8/25/20
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 397
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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There's nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie.

She was kind of a big deal—she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead.

Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading.

Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she's inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset.

It’s alarming. But also . . . kind of amazing?

It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape.

Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?

Short and Sweet Review

Josie peaked in high school, she was a great singer and she wanted to be on broadway but show biz is tough and she got turned away. Now Josie is a nanny in a state far away from New York. Josie still tries to live her high school life even though she dropped out to pursue her dreams, so she thinks about her boyfriend who’s been distant and her best friend who’s been too busy to talk. When Josie goes to a book store and gets a book and begins reading it she’s transported into the book and at first she’s scared but in these books she finds a way to see the people she misses and find a way to make her broadway dreams come true.

The plot of this story is great, who doesn’t want to go into their favorite books and see everything. The problem with this story is Josie. She wasn’t an easy character to connect to and unfortunately she thought very highly of herself and wasn’t great at taking criticism. She was more focused on making her dreams come true and in the process of doing that completely ignores what’s going on around her. Josie book hopped a lot and did a lot of complaining and over all everything was about her and by the time she learns a lesson about how the world doesn’t revolve around her the book is over. I didn’t care for the ending honestly if Josie was stuck in a book forever as punishment for her behavior I would have been fine with it, but overall not my favorite read and it took way too long for the climax to take place.

POOR UNFORTUNATE SOUL By Serena Valentino

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

POOR UNFORTUNATE SOUL By Serena ValentinoPoor Unfortunate Soul by Serena Valentino
Series: Villains #3
Published by Disney Press on 7/26/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 140
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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The tale of the sea king's daughter Ariel is a beloved one of losing-and then finding-one's own voice. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the mergirl wants more than her world can offer, and her father demands that she live within the confines of his domain. Her rebelliousness costs the little mermaid her voice and nearly her soul. But the power of good prevails, and Ariel emerges proud and unchanged.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of Ariel's nemesis, Ursula, the sea witch? What led to her becoming so twisted, scorned, and filled with hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account of what might have shaped the sea witch into a detestable and poor unfortunate soul.

Short and Sweet Review

Poor Unfortunate Soul follows everyones favorite Sea Witch, Ursula. In this book we see Ursula express her anger and frustrations about how her brother Triton has treated her over the years and how her anger has consumed her over the years. Ursula comes up with a plan to get revenge by going after Tritons younger daughter, Ariel, and from there I think we all know how the story goes.

Unfortunately this book was a let down. There was more of a focus on the Odd sisters and Princess Tulip than there was on Ursula. The Odd sisters seek out Ursula and ask for their help in finding their sister Circe, and princess Tulip and her Nanny are involved because Circe has been helping them. Things could have been better if there was more of a focus on Ursula than everything else the author had going on. The previous books showed the Odd sisters but the focus was more on our title characters than them. Hopefully the next book in the series sticks to the actual main character and their story line rather than the secondary characters. The story was okay, I understand what the author was trying to do but this book was just too short to make it work.

BREAKUP FROM HELL By Ann Dávila Cardinal

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BREAKUP FROM HELL By Ann Dávila CardinalBreakup from Hell by Ann Dávila Cardinal
Published by HarperTeen on 1/3/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 297
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.

It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.

Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.

She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?

Short and Sweet Review

Miguela Angeles (Mica) lives with her grandma in a small town in Vermont, all Miguela wants is to break free of the small town life, her grandma keeping her on a tight leash, and just being with the same people and seeing the same things all the time. During a normal Sunday at Church Mica has a run in with a new guy Sam who isn’t so bad looking, Sam is on vacation and Mica gravitates towards him. After meeting Sam Mica realizes that weird things are starting to happen to her and her friends including new abilities and end of the world type dreams. Mica knows she has to stay away from Sam but for some reason it feels like ending it with him will be the end of the world as she knows it.

Mica starts a relationship with the new guy Sam and sees that things with him aren’t what they seem. After being with Mica starts getting Buffy the Vampire Slayer like powers and she knows that this isn’t normal. Come to find out Mica is a descendent of the Archangel Michael and Sam is unfortunately the son of Satan. Their relationship ends up turning them into enemies.

The plot was interesting I mean its not everyday you end up dating Satans son. I liked that Mica’s friends were also special and that she didn’t have to go through things alone. The dialogue was a bit cheesy and it felt juvenile like something from a bad superhero movie. I think one of my favorite things was that each of the chapters started with a verse from Revelation which only makes sense because this relationship may cause the end of the world. I didn’t connect with Mica but I did like the whole angel aspect of the book. The relationship between Mica and Sam wasn’t really anything to look forward to it’s instalove and very short lived.

If you want a short book that involves angels and demons then this book is a good way to start off your new year.

HEIR OF FIRE By Sarah J. Maas

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

HEIR OF FIRE By Sarah J. MaasHeir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #3
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 9/2/14
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 576
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak-but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth . . . a truth about her heritage that could change her life-and her future-forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of Crown of Midnight, Chaol manages to get Celaena sent to Wendlyn under the guise of killing the royal family. Celaena has no idea why Chaol would even suggest this but now that she’s in Wendlyn with no intentions of killing the royal family she doesn’t know what to do with herself until her aunt the queen of fae, Maeve sends for her. Celaena decides that this is the perfect time to learn more about wyrdkeys but her aunt won’t answer her questions until she deems Celaena worthy and now Celaena has to train with Rowan to learn to control the magic that she’s suppressed for all of these years. Meanwhile back at the castle, Dorian is learning to control his magic and Chaol starts exchanging information with Aedion who just happens to be Celaena’s cousin. Also there’s a new character Manon Blackbeak, an Ironteeth witch. She’s tasked with picking a wyvern and training him until he’s ready to fight in the kings army, Manon’s goal is to work for the king until she can reclaim her country.

There’s a lot going on in this book but in a good way. I enjoyed all of the POVs but my favorite is Aelin’s (Celaena) we learn so much about her and what happened the day almost everyone in her kingdom was slaughtered. Aelin has been suppressing her fae form for a long time so now that she’s training with Rowan she’s struggling to perfect the art of shifting and control her fire magic. These two had an interesting relationship because at first, Rowan wanted nothing to do with Aelin but we all know she knows how to work her charm and honestly I’m looking forward to see where this all goes. Also the king is up to some shady stuff and the magic he’s been working is dark like the kind of magic they tell you to stay away from. I felt bad for Dorian he has magic but his father banished all magic from the kingdom so he has to learn to use it in secret. I also liked the addition of Aedion when we read from his POV we see how much he cares about Aelin even though he hasn’t seen her since they were kids. Manon is okay she’s a tough character and lets people know she’s a boss but I’m interested in learning more about her because we mostly see her training her wyvern in this book.

Heir of Fire is exciting and offers so much backstory and interesting new characters. I can’t wait to see what happens in Queen of Shadows!

THE BEAST WITHIN By Serena Valentino

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE BEAST WITHIN By Serena ValentinoThe Beast Within by Serena Valentino
Series: Villains #2
Published by Disney Press on 7/22/14
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 164
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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A cursed prince sits alone in a secluded castle. Few have seen him, but those who claim they have say his hair is wild and nails are sharp--like a beast's! But how did this prince, once jovial and beloved by the people, come to be a reclusive and bitter monster? And is it possible that he can ever find true love and break the curse that has been placed upon him?

The Beast Within follows Prince Adams transformation into the beast and his quest to find true love. In the beginning we see that the prince is engaged to Circe but once he sees her covered in mud he decides that she’s no longer good for him. What the prince didn’t know is that Circe is a witch and she curses him and turns him into the beast. The prince needs to find love before time runs out. We see the prince try to fall in love with a girl but he was just trying to use her to break the curse which is why it didn’t work. In the story we also see Belle and how it takes time but eventually falls in love with the beast. What was also interesting was seeing more of the odd sisters and how they meddle in peoples affairs.

This was a good book, I’m interested in reading more about the villains and seeing how they became who they are.

THE CARNELIAN CROW By Colleen Gleason

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE CARNELIAN CROW By Colleen GleasonThe Carnelian Crow by Colleen Gleason
Series: Stoker & Holmes #4
Published by Avid Press on 7/11/17
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 282
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Ever since the debacle of the Chess Queen Enigma, Mina Holmes and Evaline Stoker have laid low, trying to settle back into their quiet lives as young ladies of London. But the Holmesian deductive abilities won't remain dormant for long, and when Mina receives a strange package from a winged, midnight visitor, she is catapulted into a new, dangerous adventure: the search for The Carnelian Crow.

Meanwhile, Evaline has received some very disturbing news--news that will change her life forever. Along with that unpleasant knowledge is the strange disappearance of her nemesis, the disreputable pickpocket Pix.

When it becomes clear the arch-villainess the Ankh has made her next move, it will take all of Mina's Holmesian ingenuity and Evaline's courage and determination to stop the criminal from executing her boldest and most dangerous plan yet!

Short and Sweet Review

Mina and Evaline are back. After what happened with the Chess Queen Enigma the girls have been laying low but after Mina receives a package she and Evaline are on the search for the Carnelian Crow.

In this book we see the girls try to figure out what the Carnelian Crow is and its importance. The Ankh is also back and is making her next book. Evaline’s family is having financial problems so her sister in law is trying to find her someone rich to marry. This book was pretty short and I don’t think there was a lot going on. The girls did more detective work on their own in this book and it was nice to see their investigation skills and how they got out of certain situations. We see characters from the past books and I liked seeing Mina and Grayling together. The ending was probably the best part because there was a lot of action, it did end on a cliffhanger so I’m interested to see how it all ends in the next book.

FAIREST OF ALL By Serena Valentino

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAIREST OF ALL By Serena ValentinoFairest of All by Serena Valentino
Series: Villains #1
Published by Disney Press on 2/14/12
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 268
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Why exactly is the wicked Queen so nasty, particularly to Snow White? Perhaps it has something to do with the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror who's not just some random spooky visage...

Short and Sweet Review

Fairest of All tells the story of the Evil Queen before she became the Evil Queen. We see the queen earlier in life when she marries the king and becomes Snow Whites step mother. Snow White and the queen have a good relationship she tries to be a mother to Snow White while also trying not to replace memories of Snow Whites mom. The King goes off to war but before he leaves he gifts the queen with a mirror that ends up being enchanted. I feel like we all know what happens from here but the Queen begins talking to the mirror and that’s when her descent into the Evil Queen begins. The Evil Queen wants more power and beauty and eventually she becomes unrecognizable to those who she used to love the most.

This was a short book and easy to read. It was an interesting retelling and I liked seeing the beginning of her story and how she became the villain we know her as today.

A THOUSAND HEARTBEATS By Kiera Cass

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A THOUSAND HEARTBEATS By Kiera CassA Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass
Published by HarperTeen on 11/29/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 576
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.

Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.

But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart.

Short and Sweet Review

Annika is the princess of a nice kingdom where she lives comfortably and doesn’t have much to worry about except for keeping her people, and that involves arranged marriages to people she has no feelings for.

Miles away Lennox lives with the Dahrainian people and they’ve been struggling, but what they really want the the kingdom back. Lennox is tasked with going on a mission to find out more information about the kingdom and ends up taking Annika hostage. After this he finds that he has feelings for her and lets her go but they both know in the end one of them has to die.

This was an interesting book in that it was very predictable and because of the predictability this book could have been at least 100 pages shorter. Annika and Lennox fall for each other even though they basically need to kill each other and I wasn’t really feeling their romance or connection it kind of felt forced. The fact that she feel for him after being kidnapped was a bit like Stockholm syndrome. Anyway Annika only had her brother Escalus and her maid Noemi that were really in her corner the other characters seemed to think less of her even though she was the princess. Lennox on the other hand was more of a leader than the one they actually had in Dahrain but he was also looked down upon. They both had that in common they were looked down upon and people didn’t really believe them until they were put on the spot and could show what they could do. This book was okay it wasn’t the most original thing I think Annika was a bit similar to other female characters we see in Cass’s books. I will say I liked how we got a dual POV and Cass did a good job writing from both POVs. The ending was good again it was predictable. I will say if you like Cass’s other books then you’ll enjoy A Thousand Heartbeats.

THE KINGDOM OF BACK By Marie Lu

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE KINGDOM OF BACK By Marie LuThe Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 3/3/20
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 332
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Two siblings. Two brilliant talents. But only one Mozart.

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear.

And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything.

Short and Sweet Review

Mozart had an older sister and her name was Nannerl. She was a musician but during the time that this book takes place being a musician is only proper for so long, eventually she needs to focus on getting married and having children. Nannerl wants more in life she wants to be a great musician and she doesn’t want to be forgotten. As years pass by Nannerl’s chances of becoming a musician dwindle but Mozart is starting to become a force to be reckoned with. A stranger from a magical land tells Nannerl he can help her dreams come true but in return she has to help him with a few quests.

This was an interesting book it was historical with some fantasy elements. I did like the bond between Nannerl and Mozart, she is a bit jealous but I think its more about the fact that as a girl she doesn’t get to have the same opportunities as Mozart. The whole idea of Kingdom of Back was different, the siblings meet Hyacinth and he’s from the Kingdom and he wants Nannerl and Mozart to help him. At a point the siblings start to get a weird vibe from Hyacinth and realize maybe he can’t do everything he’s promised to do.

Overall this was a good book. I liked the bond between Nannerl and Mozart they truly care for each other. I still think the whole Kingdom of Back thing was weird and I think this still could have been a good book without it.

A WILDERNESS OF STARS By Shea Ernshaw

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A WILDERNESS OF STARS By Shea ErnshawA Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 11/29/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 397
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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When all is lost, look to the stars.

Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But when Vega sees an omen in the sky—one she cannot ignore—she is forced to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. Yet the outside world is much more terrifying than Vega could have ever imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.

But Vega has a secret: she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from generation to generation—and she is the only one who understands the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to a cure. So when locals spot the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an astronomer—chaos erupts. Fearing for her life, Vega is rescued by a girl named Cricket who leads her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos.

On the run from the men hunting her, Vega sets out across the plains with Cricket and Noah, in search of a fabled cure kept secret by the astronomers. But as the line between friends and protectors begins to blur, Vega must decide whether to safeguard the sacred knowledge of the astronomers…or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.

Short and Sweet Review

When Vega sees the twin stars she knows its a sign for her to leave the valley she’s grown up in and look for the last architect. The world outside of the valley is more dangerous than Vega ever thought, people are sick and dying and will do anything to find a cure. Vega is in danger because after her mom died she became the last astronomer the only one who can read the stars. Vega also has a tattoo of a constellation on her neck that people believe is the answer to where the cure is and these people will do anything to get to Vega. While trying to find the last architect Vega meets Cricket and Noah who travel across the plains to help her find what the twin stars were hinting at. 

This book started off slow but it starts to pick up once Vega leaves the valley and goes in search of the architect. There’s a group of men hunting Vega once they realize who she is and then it becomes a game of cat and mouse. It was crazy seeing how determined these men were to get her and they were only like a few steps behind her each time. Vega was a good character she was ready to follow the path that’s been set for her. Her one flaw to me was that she would always go against better judgement and each time she did that she put the group in more danger.

This was an interesting book and after we get past the first part and things really start to pick up, everything comes together and starts making sense. This book was so different the fact that Vega was the last one left who was able to read the stars, the sickness that has affected almost everyone, and the final destination that Vega has to reach to basically fulfill her quest. This book was captivating and will have you invested in Vega’s journey from the beginning to the end!