Jump Stations and Wormholes in Gemina by A. Kaufman and J. Kristoff

Authors: Amie Kaufman
                Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files, #2
Released: October 20th 2016
Publisher: Knopf BfYR
Length: 608 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They've totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless. 

Gemina, the sequel to last year’s hugely successful Illuminae, follows in the footsteps of its predecessor well enough to satisfy even the most demanding reader. Just like Illuminae, Gemina combines texts, images, various fonts and different storytelling strategies. They all come together to form a narrative unlike any other, a constant source of surprise and awe, not to mention entertainment.

Sorcerers and Monsters in A Shadow Bright and Burning

Author: Jessica Cluess
Series: Kingdom on Fire, #1
Released: September 20 2016
Publisher: Random House
Length: 407 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. 

Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she's shocked when instead of being executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers.

Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.

But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.

As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves?

Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess's spellbinding fantasy introduces Henrietta Howel, a powerful, unforgettable heroine, and an entertaining world filled with magic, monsters, and mayhem. 

A Shadow Bright and Burning, Jessica Cluess’ debut novel, lures us in with a gorgeous cover, but easily keeps our attention with stupendous worldbuilding and an abundance of witty charm. A trip to Victorian London, enriched by sorcery, ancient monsters and a grumpy hobgoblin, is precisely what I would recommend to all lovers of historical fantasy.

All the Paradoxes In: Highly Illogical Behavior by J. Corey Whaley

Author: John Corey Whaley

Series: Standalone

Released: May 10th 2016

Publisher: Dial

Length: 253 pages

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But is ambition alone enough to get her in?

Enter Lisa.

Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa steps into his world, along with her charming boyfriend, Clark, and soon the three form an unexpected bond. But, as Lisa learns more about Sol and he and Clark grow closer and closer, the walls they’ve built around themselves start to collapse and their friendships threaten to do the same. 

I’ve loved (loved!) John Corey Whaley ever since he published his first novel, Where Things Come Back, before all the awards and accolades that are now attached to his name. As a National Book Award finalist, winner of William C. Morris award for his debut and Michael L. Printz gold medalist for his sophomore novel, Whaley needs no more official confirmations of quality for his work. It’s becoming quite clear that he is extraordinary.

Lovely and Whimsical: Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: None

Released: August 30th 2016

Publisher: Dutton BfYR

Length: 416 pages

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Amazon

The bestselling author of the Shatter Me series takes readers beyond the limits of their imagination in this captivating new middle grade adventure where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit--and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

Furthermore, Tahereh Mafi’s first (and hopefully not last) foray into middle grade fiction is a colorful exploration of what it means to be different in a society with set rules and expectations. In a style reminiscent of beloved childhood classics, Mafi weaves a tale of a girl’s quest for her father and for self-discovery.

Alice Alexis Queensmeadow was born with no pigment whatsoever: her skin is white, her hair is white, and only her eyes have the faintest trace of color. Alice would be a bit strange just about anywhere, but in Ferenwood, a land built on color, she is considered ugly and dim. With a mother that hardly cares and two younger siblings, Alice depends on her father for love and comfort. When her father disappears for almost three years, Alice is crushed and ready to do anything to bring him home, even follow a lying boy into the unknown. With her nemesis Oliver as her guide, Alice embarks on a journey that will cost her a great deal (even a few limbs) and hopefully lead her to her father.

Blog Tour Review: A Torch Against the Night

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Series: Ember in the Ashes, #2
Released: August 30th 2016

Publisher: Razorbill

Length: 452 pages

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Amazon

Elias and Laia are running for their lives.
After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.
Laia is determined to break into Kauf - the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison - to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars' survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.
But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene - Elias's former friend and the Empire's newest Blood Shrike.
Bound to Marcus's will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own - one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape... and kill them both.

The thrilling, long-awaited sequel to An Ember in the Ashes is finally in our greedy little hands and it’s even better than we dared to hope. Beautifully written, emotionally exhausting, filled with pain and far too much heartbreak, A Torch Against the Night once again shows that Saba Tahir deserves all the praise she’s been getting. It is a bloody, painful and surprising work, a true challenge for readers and fans, but one that is worth every tear and all the hurt it causes.

Review: An Ember in the Ashes

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Series:Ember in the Ashes, #1

Released: April 28th 2015

Publisher: Razorbill

Length: 446 pages

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Amazon

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

 

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

 

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

 

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

 

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Often the most difficult books to review are those we love the most. How many superlatives can I possibly write before you grow bored and run off to read something else? It’s been a while since this reader felt the need to gush unashamedly, but today seems to be the day for it. Sabaa Tahir’s mesmerizing debut left me drowning in my own tears, wondering what on earth took me so long to read it.

Release Day Review: A World Without You

Author: Beth Revis

Series: Standalone

Released: July 19th 2016

Publisher: Razorbill

Length: 384 pages

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he can travel through time. When he was ten, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at fifteen, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he’s actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers."

At Berkshire, Bo falls in love with Sofia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the superpower of invisibility. Sofia helps Bo open up in a way he never has before. In turn, Bo provides comfort to Sofia, who lost her mother and two sisters at a very young age. 

But even the strength of their love isn’t enough to help Sofia escape her deep depression. After she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she's not actually dead. He believes that she's stuck somewhere in time — that he somehow left her in the past, and now it's his job to save her. 

A World Without You is one of those books that invades your every thought, controls your every breath and breaks your heart, only to rebuild it as the better, stronger version of itself. In this genre-bending gem of a book, Revis explores mental illness, loss and guilt that lead to never before seen depths of self-delusion and fear. For a more careful reader, reading it can be an eye-opening experience, as each new page peels away one more bit of prejudice of which we were completely unaware.

Thriller Thursday: Julia Vanishes

Author: Catherine Egan

Series: Witch's' Child, #1

Released: June 7th 2016

Publisher: Knopf

Length: 384 pages

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Amazon

Julia has the unusual ability to be…unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people’s senses.

It’s a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it’s a useful trait for a thief and a spy. And Julia has learned—crime pays.

Her latest job is paying very well indeed. Julia is posing as a housemaid in the grand house of Mrs. Och, where an odd assortment of characters live and work: A disgraced professor who keeps forbidden books and sends her to fetch parcels containing bullets, spiders, and poison. An aristocratic houseguest who is locked in the basement each night. And a mysterious young woman with an infant son who is clearly hiding—though from what or whom?

Worse, Julia has a creeping suspicion that there’s a connection between these people and the killer leaving a trail of bodies across the frozen city.

The more she learns, the more she wants to be done with this unnatural job. To go back to the safety of her friends and fellow thieves. But Julia is entangled in a struggle between forces more powerful than she’d ever imagined. Escape will come at a terrible price.

And even a girl who can vanish can’t walk away from her own worst deeds.

Julia Vanishes is best labeled as historical fantasy with a distinct Victorian feel. Julia lives in Spira City, where servants are generally illiterate, witches are killed publicly and regularly, and propriety is the highest priority for everyone. Egan provides wonderful descriptions of Julia’s surroundings, without them being a burden for the narrative. While not exactly atmospheric, Julia Vanishes is deeply dependent upon its detailed setting.

Review: And I Darken

Author: Kiersten White
Series: Conquerors Saga, #1
Released: June 28th 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Length: 496 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. 

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken. 

Before I say anything else, here’s a fair warning: And I Darken is a book so dark and twisted, so very disturbing that you’ll definitely lose sleep because of it. I did. It is also, however, Kiersten White’s best novel to date and the story that might prove to be defining – for her, as well as for young adult historical fiction. I dare say it’s one of the best this genre has to offer.

Review: Salt to the Sea

Author: Ruta Sepetys
Series: standalone
Released: February 2nd 2016
Publisher. Philomel
Length: 393 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope. 

With three extremely successful novels behind her, Ruta Sepetys has very little to prove as a YA historical fiction writer. In fact, when we think about the best in the genre, her name is the first that comes to mind. I don’t think there’s anyone quite as skilled in combining fiction and fact, uncovering hidden parts of history and making us care deeply about every one of her characters. Each of them is a product of their circumstances, each tragic in a unique, but somehow familiar way.

Review: Places No One Knows

Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Series: Standalone
Released: May 18th 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Length: 384 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

For fans of Lauren Oliver and E. Lockhart, here is a dreamy love story set in the dark halls of contemporary high school, from New York Times bestselling author Brenna Yovanoff.

Waverly Camdenmar spends her nights running until she can’t even think. Then the sun comes up, life goes on, and Waverly goes back to her perfectly hateful best friend, her perfectly dull classes, and the tiny, nagging suspicion that there’s more to life than student council and GPAs.

Marshall Holt is a loser. He drinks on school nights and gets stoned in the park. He is at risk of not graduating, he does not care, he is no one. He is not even close to being in Waverly’s world.

But then one night Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall’s bedroom—and when the sun comes up, nothing in her life can ever be the same. In Waverly’s dreams, the rules have changed. But in her days, she’ll have to decide if it’s worth losing everything for a boy who barely exists.

Brenna Yovanoff is the author of my heart and soul. She earned that place with The Space Between (which remains one of my all-time favorites), confirmed it with The Replacement, and pretty much cemented it with Paper Valentine and Fiendish. With her magical writing, she makes me discover parts of myself or relive emotions long forgotten, which is something very few authors can do these days.

Blog Tour Review: Tell Me Three Things

Author: Julie Buxbaum
Series: Standalone
Released: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Delacorte
Length: 336 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends. 

Grief is a very strange thing. It makes people behave differently, uncharacteristically and unpredictably. Grief often causes us to act out and neglect those we care for the most. In order to write about it, truly write about it, one must understand it completely and intimately, otherwise it’s just an empty plot device that leads absolutely nowhere. Julie Buxbaum fully understands the subtleties of grief, the isolation and odd behaviors that come with it, and because of her thorough understanding, Tell Me Three Things stands out among others of its kind. It is, in fact, quite extraordinary.

Review: Anna and the Swallow Man

Author: Gavriel Savit
ISBN: 9780399553042
Released: January 27th 2016
Publisher: Knopf BfYR
Length: 240 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon
         The Book Depository

Kraków, 1939. A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. This is no place to grow up. Anna Łania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland. She’s alone. 

And then Anna meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve. And when the soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see. 

The Swallow Man is not Anna’s father—she knows that very well—but she also knows that, like her father, he’s in danger of being taken, and like her father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced. She follows him into the wilderness. 

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgment, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous. Even the Swallow Man. 

Gavriel Savit’s literary debut is one of those rare, gorgeous little gems that leave you completely in awe of the author’s talent. Savit is incredibly skillful with words, a true artist fully aware of the importance of every single sentence. Each one is a small work of art, poetic and beautiful in its simplicity.