Book Review: Every Reason We Shouldn’t (Every Reason We Shouldn’t #1) – Sara Fujimura

Rating: 2/5 🌟🌟

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Review:

Olivia’s parents own a skating rink where she spends most of her time. She used to be a figure skater until something happened to end her career. Enter Jonah Choi, skating prodigy who starts training at the rink. Sparks fly as they clash.

The synopsis gives the impression of a rivalry, an opposites attract vibe between Olivia and Jonah but I didn’t see it. Even the title hinted at it but it was missing from the story. Their first meeting was a volley of barbs but after that, the relationship did a rapid 180. Trust me, I do like when relationships progress fast but the segue lacked a smoothness that felt wrong to me.

Book Review: What I Like About You – Marisa Kanter

Rating: 3/5 🌟🌟🌟

Genre: YA Contemporary, Young Adult

Review:

This book is about a Jewish teen, Halle Levitt who has a popular YA blog which she started under the persona Kels. Her bookish blog is famous for custom cupcakes with book covers and reviews. Things are going great for her until she meets and falls for her online best friend, Nash, in real life without telling him who she really is. Nash believes Kels and Halle to be two different persons. Talk about a complicated mess. As Sir Walter Scott said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”

New Book Releases – 28 April 2020

Hola, Book Dragons! I got this book on Netgalley and it looks really good. Is the cover amazing or what? I’m still reading the ARC and let me tell you, it’s an intriguing story.

Happy Book Birthday to:

Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) – Zoraida Córdova

Synopsis:

I am Renata Convida.
I have lived a hundred stolen lives.
Now I live my own.

Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King’s Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata’s ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King’s Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.

Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred–or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned “hollow” during her time in the palace.

When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez’s top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.

But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom–and end the war that has cost her everything.

What about you guys? Is this book on your TBR?

∼Lyn

New Book Releases – 21 April 2020

Hola, Book Dragons! I’m late to the release party for this one due to a couple of rugrats who came calling and stayed lol. 

Time of Our Lives – Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Synopsis:

A boy desperate to hold on, a girl ready to let go.

Fitz Holton waits in fear for the day his single mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s starts stealing her memory. He’s vowed to stay close to home to care for her in the years to come–never mind the ridiculous college tour she’s forcing him on to visit schools where he knows he’ll never go. Juniper Ramirez is counting down the days until she can leave home, a home crowded with five younger siblings and zero privacy. Against the wishes of her tight-knit family, Juniper plans her own college tour of the East Coast with one goal: get out.

When Fitz and Juniper cross paths on their first college tour in Boston, they’re at odds from the moment they meet– while Juniper’s dying to start a new life apart for her family, Fitz faces the sacrifices he must make for his. Their relationship sparks a deep connection–in each other’s eyes, they glimpse alternate possibilities regarding the first big decision of their adult lives.

Time of Our Lives is a story of home and away, of the wonder and weight of memory, of outgrowing fears and growing into the future.

What about you guys? Is this book on your TBR?

∼Lyn

Book Review: The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern

Rating: 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Review:

Once upon a time, a young boy found a painted door, which led to a hidden world called The Starless Sea, with rooms and rooms of stories. (Of course, the boy was not aware of this then.) To open it or not? Years later, that boy, grown-up, finds a book telling his story and so, embarks on a journey of endless wonder.

The Starless Sea was like a shrewdly crafted quilt with each piece adding something to the whole picture or like puzzle pieces thrown here and there and you had no idea where they fit in until you brought all of them together. This story with its countless smaller ones, interlocked together, dazzled me.

New Book Releases – 02 March 2020

Hola, Book Dragons! I’m featuring a new book release today from one of my favorite authors – Jus Accardo. She writes really good YA books. Happy Book Birthday to Transcendent.

The Denazen series is finally complete!

Transcendent (Denazen #4) by Jus Accardo
The boy she’d lost, and finally found again, is not the same boy she remembers. As one of the most powerful Sixes, Kale has changed in ways Dez can’t ignore.

He swore he’d never kill, and now he’s out for blood.

He swore he’d never harm her, and now he struggles to control his fatal touch.

They’ve been to hell and back, over and over, but this time they might not survive the fire.

When the truth at the root of the Denazen Corporation’s origins begins to unfold, those behind the scenes will do anything to keep it hidden.

Dez and Kale will be pushed to their breaking point. As long buried secrets come to light, they must fight for their freedom—and each other—as they never have before.

Kale’s destructive power could win the battle, if he doesn’t lose himself to it in the process. Or Dez will be faced with an impossible task—saving the world from the boy she loves.

What about you guys? Have you read the books by Jus Accardo, especially this series?

∼Lyn

New Book Releases – 25 February 2020

Hola, Book Dragons! I’m featuring a new book release today (that I’m interested in 😉 ). Happy Book Birthday to this gem!

The Shadows Between Us
by Tricia Levenseller

Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance

Synopsis:
Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.
But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

What about you guys? Do you know about this book? The cover is fantastic and that synopsis? Just makes you wanna grab the book, right? 😉

∼Lyn

Book Review: The Downstairs Girl – Stacey Lee

Rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Review:

A Chinese girl stuck in the land of the white during a time when racism and ethnic inequalities featured amongst the worst damaging human traits in history. Racism is still a gigantic issue nowadays but back then, it was a horrible time for people of color and ethnicity. How to survive at such a time without your soul dying a slow, excruciating death at the atrocious and humiliating treatment? Jo Kuan found a way to cope but the path she set herself on was fraught with perils and navigating it could mean more danger than mere exposure.

Blog Tour: What I Want You to See – Catherine Linka

Hola, Book Dragons! Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for What I Want You to See by the author, Catherine Linka. Stay tuned for my review and more deets below.­

A big thanks to FFBC Tours for allowing me to participate in the blog tour and kudos for all the meticulous, hard work.

Synopsis: Winning a scholarship to California’s most prestigious art school seems like a fairy tale ending to Sabine Reye’s awful senior year. After losing both her mother and her home, Sabine longs for a place where she belongs. But the cutthroat world of visual arts is nothing like what Sabine had imagined. Colin Krell, the renowned faculty member whom she had hoped would mentor her, seems to take merciless delight in tearing down her best work—and warns her that she’ll lose the merit-based award if she doesn’t improve. Desperate and humiliated, Sabine doesn’t know where to turn. Then she meets Adam, a grad student who understands better than anyone the pressures of art school. He even helps Sabine get insight on Krell by showing her the modern master’s work in progress, a portrait that’s sold for a million dollars sight unseen. Sabine is enthralled by the portrait; within those swirling, colorful layers of paint is the key to winning her inscrutable teacher’s approval. Krell did advise her to improve her craft by copying a painting she connects with . . . but what would he think of Sabine secretly painting her own version of his masterpiece? And what should she do when she accidentally becomes party to a crime so well -plotted that no one knows about it but her? Complex and utterly original, What I Want You to See is a gripping tale of deception, attraction, and moral ambiguity.

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: February 4th 2020

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Rating: 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Review:

Sabine Reye is a talented painter. Her life turns upside down when her mother dies. Despite winning a fully-paid scholarship to California’s most prestigious art school, which was a dream come true, her life isn’t all roses and sunshine. Her class with the teacher she once admired and hoped to study with is harder than she imagined. When a handsome stranger, Adam, who seems to understand her and gives her an opportunity to be better at her art, she takes him up on the offer. But who is Adam really? When she gets embroiled in a secret crime, she understands just what it means when things are too good to be true.

Book Review: Opal (The Raven Cycle #4.5) – Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review:

I can’t believe it took me so long to read this short story. I hadn’t planned to review it when I first decided to read it. I mean, I thought it’s just a short story, why spend time drafting a review for it? But this short story was like a slab of rich chocolate cake – delicious and so good! Even a short story can grab hold of your heart and stay with you.