[Review] The Wicked King by Holly Black

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Series or Stand Alone: The Folk of the Air #2

Release Date: 8 January, 2019

Publisher: Little, Brown Books/Hatchette Audio

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy and Science Fiction/Contemporary Fantasy/Romance/Mystery

ASIN/ISBN: 1549171313 / 9781681198590

Edition: Audiobook and Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition Hardback (also available in Kindle and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 5 October, 2019
Warnings: Racism, Character Death, Magic, Manipulation

Summary:  

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world. 

See more by Holly Black at her Website.

[Review] The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

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Series or Stand Alone: Pine Cove #3 (Not necessary to read other titles in this series)

Release Date: 28 October, 2008

Publisher: Harper Audio

Genre: Adult Fiction/Holiday Fiction/Horror/Humor/American Literature

ASIN: B0006IU4W0

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, and Audio CD)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 2 December, 2019
Warnings: Character Death, Magic, Rude Humor, Dark Humor

Summary:  

Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle" he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

See more by Christopher Moore at his Website.

[Review] I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

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Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 6 August, 2019

Publisher: Recorded Books/Sourcebooks Fire

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Friendship/Racism

ASIN: B07XD5MS8B

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle and Hardback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 18 November, 2019
Warnings: Racism, Violence, Rioting

Summary:  
Lena and Campbell aren't friends. Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school. When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together. They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night.

See more by Kimberly Jones at her Website. See more by Gilly Segal at her website.

[Review] Broken Throne by Victoria Aveyard

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Series or Stand Alone: Red Queen #4.5

Release Date: 7 May, 2019

Publisher: Orion

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy and Science Fiction/Short Stories/Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy

ASIN: B07K6RMVFS

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 5 October, 2019
Warnings: Death, Mental Health, Racism

Summary:  
Return once more to the deadly and dazzling world of Red Queen in Broken Throne, a beautifully designed, must-have companion to the chart-topping series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard. The perfect addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen series, this gorgeously designed package features three brand-new novellas, two previously published novellas, Steel Scars and Queen Song, and never-before-seen maps, flags, bonus scenes, journal entries, and much more exclusive content. Fans will be delighted to catch up with beloved characters after the drama of War Storm and be excited to hear from brand-new voices as well. This stunning collection is not to be missed!

See more by Victoria Aveyard at her Website.

[Review] Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

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Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 30 July, 2001

Publisher: Audible Frontiers

Genre: Science Fiction/High Tech Fiction/Contemporary Science Fiction

ASIN: B00005NZJA

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Review Written: 5 October, 2019
Warnings: Death, Gore, Sexual content

Summary:  
In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous… you'll recognize it immediately. 

See more by Neil Stephenson at his Website.

[Review] The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

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Series or Stand Alone: Wayfarer Series #1

Release Date: 29 July, 2014

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera/Adventure

ASIN: B07DFNC9Z8

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 30 September, 2019
Warnings: Death, Mentions of War

Summary:  
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain. Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

See more by Becky Chambers at her Website.

[Review] House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

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Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 6 August, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte/Listening Library

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Dark Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings

ASIN: B07TLZCJHW

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 23 September, 2019
Warnings: Death, gore

Summary:  
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last--the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge--and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who--or what--are they really dancing with? When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family--before it claims her next.

See more by Erin A. Craig at her Website. Spoilers below the cut.

[Review] The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series: The Folk of the Air #1

Release Date: 2 January, 2018

Publisher: Little, Brown Books/Hachette Audio

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Dark Fantasy May Contain Themes of: Bullying/Abuse & Torture

ISBN: 978-0316310277 

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 11 February, 2019

Summary:
Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him--and face the consequences. In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

See more by Holly Black at her Website.

[Review] Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

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Series: Strange the Dreamer Duology (#1)

Release Date: 28 March, 2017

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Epic Fantasy/Friendship/Romance/Mystery

ISBN: 9781478913054

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 18 March, 2019

Summary:The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

See more by Laini Taylor at her Website.

[Review] Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian

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Series: Ash Princess Trilogy

Release Date: 5 February, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte Press/Listening Library

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Epic Fantasy/Girls & Women Fiction/Fantasy Romance

ISBN: 9781524767105

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 18 March, 2019

Summary: The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon. Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne. To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done. Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.

See more by Laura Sebastian at her Website.

[Review] The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson

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Series: N/A

Release Date: 6 November, 2018

Publisher: Bloomsbury/Brilliance Audio

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Romance/Self-Esteem & Reliance/Contemporary Fantasy

ISBN: 9781681198590

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 11 February, 2019

Summary: Every winter, Wren Silke is chased through the forest in a warped version of a childhood game. The boys who haunt her are judges, powerful and frightening pursuers, who know nothing of her true identity. If they knew she was an augur, their sworn enemy, the game would turn deadly. But Wren is on the hunt, too. Sent undercover as an intern to the Harkness Foundation - enemy headquarters - her family's survival rests on finding a secret meant to stay hidden. As the enmity between two ancient magics reaches breaking point, Wren is torn between old loyalties and new lies. And trapped in the most dangerous game of her life. Part thriller, part love story, this captivating debut novel will leave readers spellbound. 

See more by Mary Watson at her Website.

[Review] The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Series: N/A

Release Date: 16 March, 2018

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Emigration & Immigration/Social & Family Issues/Coming of Age/Poetry

ISBN: 9781368005845

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle and Hardback)

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 11 February, 2019

Summary: A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo. Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. 

See more by Elizabeth Acevedo at her Website.