#BookReview: Cemetery Boys by @aidenschmaiden

Synopsis: Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

#BookReview: The Girl the Sea Gave Back (Sky in the Deep #2) by @adriennebooks

Synopsis: The new gut-wrenching epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Sky in the Deep.

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home. 

#BookReview: The Girl Who Looked Beyond The Stars by @authorlbanne

Synopsis: "What am I?" 

Sheena Meyer is the girl that brings an extra sandwich to school each day just in case someone doesn’t have lunch. She’s also the girl that questions and investigates everything, driving her parents and teachers nuts. She spends most days waiting for some grand event to happen and change her life. But this isn’t what she had in mind. 

The Murk is coming for her because of a gift she doesn’t know she has. 

Nine years ago an angel appeared in front of select kids all over the world. In Michigan, it appeared in a willow tree in front of a four-year-old little girl. She's the only child that saw it, the one with the gift. Sheena is now thirteen and has since forgotten what she saw. But things change when her father is in a terrible accident, and she witnesses a supernatural being save him. 

“I saw what you did. Come back!” 

An old man, the arrival of a peculiar new kid at school, and mysterious text messages will change everything Sheena has ever believed in, sweeping her out of a humdrum, teenage existence, and setting in motion what one little girl’s destiny can mean to the world. 

#BookReview: In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) by Seanan McGuire @TorBooks

Synopsis: This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

#BookReview: The Dragon Commander (SkyLine, #1) by Kennedy King

Synopsis: It's 2350. Cold Fusion, AI nanotech cops, and the SkyLine between a dying Earth and a developing Mars are parts of life.

Major General Christopher Droan has survived a crisis. It left him with trauma and a deeper understanding of his dad’s distrust for technology.

Now all he wants is to focus on the love of his life, Sheeba.

It’s a turbulent time to be a Major General, even one resigned to desk work. But the calm can only last so long. When tragedy strikes Precinct 117 in Shanghai, Chris and his unit are forced to gear up again.

What waits for them in the heart of a robot with a beta personality matrix will change the planets on both ends of the SkyLine, mankind, and Major General Christopher Droan, forever. 

#BookReview: Twilight (The Twilight Saga #1) by Stephenie Meyer

Synopsis: About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.

#BookTour: Marrow Charm (The Gate Cycle, #1) by @Krazydiamond07 @AnAudiobookworm

Author: Kristin Jacques

Narrator: Amie Lyn Hornick

Length: 10 hours 24 minutes

Series: The Gate Cycle, Book 1

Publisher: The Parliament House

Released: June 12, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

"In his pursuit of the occult, the Third Reich opened the Gate to a realm of magic and brought the world to ruin. The Gate was eventually closed, but they were already in our world, and they were hungry." (The Lost History, Library of Avergard) Azure "Azzy" Brimvine lives in a world decimated by magic, where humans have retreated underground from the overwhelming dangers of the surface. But Below is no safer than Above. Magic-borne plagues continue to eat away at the remaining human cities - a sickness that doesn’t merely kill, but creates aberrations from the stricken. People twisted by magic into something dark, dangerous, and powerful. It is an existence of fear and constant dread. When Azzy’s brother Armin is infected and cast out into the Above, she sets out after him, determined to be there for him, no matter what he becomes. The world Above is full of monsters, both wild and cunning, some more human than Azzy was led to believe. Armin is captured and bound for the auction block of Avergard - a ruthless city of inhuman lords and twisted creatures. To reach him, Azzy must brave the perils of the Above and the chaotic life forms created by the Gate. To reach him, she must find allies and forge new bonds in this broken world. And Azzy must reach him, before Armin’s new power is used to open the Gate once more.

#BookTour: The Order of the Key by @justine_manzano @XpressoTours #Giveaway

The Order of the Key
Justine Manzano
Publication date: July 9th 2020
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Jacklyn Madison never expected to be attacked by a beast on an evening snack run. Add a rescue mission enacted by a trained regiment of teenaged warriors, and her night officially becomes just like a scene from one of her beloved comic books. Turns out, her parents were once members of the Order of the Key, gifted humans that protect humanity from creatures spilling through inter-dimensional rifts. Unable to control her newfound abilities, Jacklyn and her family rejoin the Order.
After an attack on their headquarters leaves Jacklyn questioning their leadership, Kyp—the boy who led her initial rescue—reveals a darker secret. The Order’s leader may be corrupt, and Jacklyn’s questions could put her family in danger. Drawn into the search for proof, Jacklyn must use her guts and magical brawn to protect her family, her friends, and herself from the monsters spilling from rifts, and those hiding within the Order.

#BookReview: An End in Ice by Rachel Ford

Synopsis: Monsters lurk in dark places, where shadows grow long. Evil prowls in quiet spaces, where no one can hear your screams. 

A late autumn hunt brings brothers Radu and Pavel face-to-face with an ancient evil. With no one to help them, and nowhere to run, the brothers find that the prey they've been stalking is really a predator.

And they're the ones being hunted...

Fans of Bram Stoker and Anne Rice will love this terrifying novella about dark endings and terrible beginnings.

#BookReview: Touched by Grace (Divine Fate #2) by @aliciarades

Synopsis: Ryn Tyler finally found her home—and demons are out to destroy it.

After a lifetime of searching for where she belongs, Ryn knows it's in Eagle Valley... but war threatens to take that all away. Attending an angels-only high school should help her master her magical abilities, but stopping the upcoming battle is more important.

Ryn trains in secret with the help of her mentor, Marek, a bad boy who can't decide between duty and love—and who's already stolen Ryn's heart. But the arrival of another Davina complicates things, and Ryn finds herself torn between the two boys.

Above all, she needs to find Grace. The ancient Davina warrior is Eagle Valley's last hope.

The demons will do anything to stop Ryn from reaching Grace. Lives are on the line, and the future of the Davina—and the entire world—is at stake. 

#BookReview: Awakened by Grace (Divine Fate #3) by @aliciarades

Synopsis: Ryn Tyler has finally fulfilled her destiny—but Eagle Valley is in more danger than ever.

After a victory that came at too high of a cost, Ryn's sacrifices have paid off. Ryn has awakened Grace, the Davina who's prophesied to save them all... but she's not what Ryn expected. From the start, Ryn knows Grace is keeping secrets. But it's worse than she originally feared, for Grace is hiding something that could mean the end of the world.

Ryn decides she has to discover the truth—even as war erupts in Eagle Valley.

Everything Ryn thought she knew about the magical world is wrong, but somehow, she and her friends have to make it right again. If she doesn't, the home she's come to love, and everyone in it, will be lost.

#BookReview: Chosen by Grace (Divine Fate #1) by @aliciarades

Synopsis: She thought the demons were in her head... until the night they attacked.

Ryn Tyler didn't intend to kill a demon when she moved to Eagle Valley—or to become the hero of a divine race of angels. She just wants to be a normal teenager, but fate has other plans.

While discovering the secrets of the supernatural, Ryn navigates a complicated relationship with Marek, the guy who can't stop saving her life. But Marek knows more about Ryn's magic than he's letting on.

Only Ryn has the power to stop the coming apocalypse. But there's a demon in Eagle Valley who wants that power for himself—and if Ryn wants to survive, she'll have to fight back.

#BookReview: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by @AmieKaufman @misterkristoff

Synopsis: Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she'd ever been through. That was before her planet was invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. 
But the warship could be the least of their problems. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their biggest threat; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady plunges into a web of data hacking to get to the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: Ezra.
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents--including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more--Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. 

#BookReview: Awakened by Grace (Divine Fate #3) by @aliciarades

Synopsis: Ryn Tyler has finally fulfilled her destiny—but Eagle Valley is in more danger than ever.

After a victory that came at too high of a cost, Ryn's sacrifices have paid off. Ryn has awakened Grace, the Davina who's prophesied to save them all... but she's not what Ryn expected. From the start, Ryn knows Grace is keeping secrets. But it's worse than she originally feared, for Grace is hiding something that could mean the end of the world.

Ryn decides she has to discover the truth—even as war erupts in Eagle Valley.

Everything Ryn thought she knew about the magical world is wrong, but somehow, she and her friends have to make it right again. If she doesn't, the home she's come to love, and everyone in it, will be lost. 

#BookReview: Touched by Grace (Divine Fate #2) by @aliciarades

Synopsis: Ryn Tyler finally found her home—and demons are out to destroy it.

After a lifetime of searching for where she belongs, Ryn knows it's in Eagle Valley... but war threatens to take that all away. Attending an angels-only high school should help her master her magical abilities, but stopping the upcoming battle is more important.

Ryn trains in secret with the help of her mentor, Marek, a bad boy who can't decide between duty and love—and who's already stolen Ryn's heart. But the arrival of another Davina complicates things, and Ryn finds herself torn between the two boys.

Above all, she needs to find Grace. The ancient Davina warrior is Eagle Valley's last hope.

The demons will do anything to stop Ryn from reaching Grace. Lives are on the line, and the future of the Davina—and the entire world—is at stake. 

#BookReview: Chosen by Grace (Divine Fate #1) by @aliciarades

Synopsis: She thought the demons were in her head... until the night they attacked.

Ryn Tyler didn't intend to kill a demon when she moved to Eagle Valley—or to become the hero of a divine race of angels. 

She just wants to be a normal teenager, but fate has other plans.

While discovering the secrets of the supernatural, Ryn navigates a complicated relationship with Marek, the guy who can't stop saving her life. 

But Marek knows more about Ryn's magic than he's letting on.

Only Ryn has the power to stop the coming apocalypse. 

But there's a demon in Eagle Valley who wants that power for himself—and if Ryn wants to survive, she'll have to fight back.

#BookReview: The God Game by Danny Tobey

Synopsis: You are invited!

Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

With those words, Charlie and his friends enter the G.O.D. Game, a video game run by underground hackers and controlled by a mysterious AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone-screens and high-tech glasses, the teens’ realities blur with a virtual world of creeping vines, smoldering torches, runes, glyphs, gods, and mythical creatures. When they accomplish a mission, the game rewards them with expensive tech, revenge on high-school tormentors, and cash flowing from ATMs. Slaying a hydra and drawing a bloody pentagram as payment to a Greek god seem harmless at first. Fun even.

But then the threatening messages start. Worship me. Obey me.Complete a mission, however cruel, or the game reveals their secrets and crushes their dreams. Tasks that seemed harmless at first take on deadly consequences. Mysterious packages show up at their homes. Shadowy figures start following them, appearing around corners, attacking them in parking garages. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win?

And what of the game’s first promise: win, win big, lose, you die? Dying in a virtual world doesn’t really mean death in real life—does it?

As Charlie and his friends try to find a way out of the game, they realize they’ve been manipulated into a bigger web they can’t escape: an AI that learned its cruelty from watching us.

God is always watching, and He says when the game is done.

#BookReview: The Girl the Sea Gave Back (Sky in the Deep, #2) by @adriennebooks @WednesdayBooks

Synopsis: The new gut-wrenching epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Sky in the Deep.

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home. 

This title will be released on September 3, 2019.

#BookReview: Familiar Magic (London Coven #1) by M.V. Stott

Synopsis: A witch’s familiar is tasked with protecting London from the monsters that lurk in the shadows; the creatures that seek to unravel the fabric of things and send us all to hell. 

Mystery, horror, and fast-paced action collide in this thrilling urban fantasy series from the Uncanny Kingdom.

Three dead witches. An unknown killer. One big mistake: they left me alive.

My name is Stella Familiar and I work for the London Coven. I’m good at what I do, but now… now something has come to town and torn my coven apart. 

It did the impossible and murdered the three most powerful witches in London, leaving me to protect the city on my own.

 Something evil beyond anything I’ve ever experienced is loose, something with the power to squash me like a bug… and I’m going to destroy it.

#BookTour: Dreamscape Adventures, Inc. by @AuthorCAGray @MatthewEBerry1

Author: C.A. Gray

Narrator: Matthew E. Berry

Length: 6 hours and 16 minutes

Publisher: Wanderlust Publishing

Released: July 17, 2019

Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism

Workaholic insurance attorney Luke Darringer has it all: money, looks, ambition. Sure, he hasn't taken a vacation in over a decade, and his personal life is almost nonexistent - but that's a small price to pay in order to maintain strict control, and minimize his vulnerabilities. But then Luke's firm, with the help of his cheeky administrative assistant Charlotte, strong-arms him into becoming the first-ever client of the new Dreamscape Adventures, Inc. The new company promises fantastical vacations to wealthy clients, as well as controlled therapeutic experiences to individuals suffering from various forms of mental illness, such as autism and PTSD. They're a potentially huge client for Luke's firm, but they need liability insurance before they can get off the ground. Luke expects he'll have a quick little canyoneering adventure like he did back in his college days, and then get right back to the grindstone. But Luke's adventure doesn't quite go the way he planned. Eli, the entrepreneur in charge, assures Luke that the glitches are nothing to worry about, and they'll have things under control again in no time. Instead, Luke soon finds himself in a wilderness of questionable reality, where he is responsible not only for his own safety, but also Charlotte's, Eli's, and that of a nonverbal autistic boy whose vulnerability strikes a bit too close to home. Forced to confront his past and his deepest fears, Luke must decide whether to rewrite history and become the man he's always wanted to be - or whether instead he is doomed to repeat it.