Review: Wrecked by Maria Padian

wreckedWrecked
Maria Padian
Algonquin Young Readers

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In the midst of Haley’s recovery from a concussion, she learns her roommate has been raped. As Jenny wrestles with the aftermath of the trauma, she’s faced with a lot of decisions: should she report the incident to the college? Should she go to the police? She depends on Haley for support, a burden which Haley isn’t sure she’s capable of shouldering. Especially when a group of aggressive feminists rally around Jenny to support her and convince her to respond the way they believe is best.

In this midst of all this, Haley meets Richard, a handsome fellow student and math tutor. Just when it seems she … Continue reading

Review: Pirouette by Kenley Davidson

pirouettePirouette
Kenley Davidson
Page Nine Press

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When twelve princesses of Caelan refuse to dance as commanded by their father, he imprisons them in their pavilion and offers a challenge. Anyone who discovers the princesses’ secret will marry his pick among them and choose the fate of the others. Anyone who tries and fails will be stripped of land and title or life. But it’s the forgotten thirteenth princess who holds the key to the princesses’ rebellion. Ilani may be crippled, but she is by no means powerless.

Into this standoff comes Lord Kyril Seagrave and his companions from Andar. They hunt an exiled, dangerous prince and the truth about whether Caelan means to invade their home. Kyril is supposed to lead the … Continue reading

Review: Goldheart by Kenley Davidson

goldheartGoldheart
Kenley Davidson
Page Nine Media
Available May 2016

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After recovering from a kidnapping, Elaine Westover wants nothing more than to live a quiet secluded life with her paints. But as her father’s home falls into disrepair and his business fails, she has little choice but to offer her services painting portraits. When a wealthy man hires her to paint an impossible portrait for a year’s income, Elaine considers accepting the job. At the interview, he makes it clear she has no choice but to accept, and he bundles her off to the attic against her will, promising to release and reward her when she completes his task. Her only friend and … Continue reading

Review: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg

magic-bitterMagic Bitter, Magic Sweet
Charlie N. Holmberg
47 North

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Maire arrives in Carmine without any memory of how she got there. A kind couple take her in and she spends her days baking sweets infused with love, hope, or strength. That is Maire’s gift: she can impart these things through her cakes. She has a good life, one which she may yet share with Cleric Tuck. But before she can find out what an ordinary life in Carmine might hold for her, she meets a ghostly form from her past, a winged man named Fyel, who desperately wants her to remember who she is.

Before she can pursue her lost memories, marauders tear through … Continue reading

Review: Machinations by Hayley Stone

machinationsMachinations
Hayley Stone
Hydra/Random House

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Rhona remembers dying on the battlefield as Camus held her. When she wakes in a chamber, far from the battlefield, she learns a startling truth: she’s not the original Rhona. She’s a clone.

She races home to a hidden military base where her team of resistance fighters waits for her to lead them against the Machines who’ve chosen to end humanity as a logical solution to establishing world peace. There, she must convince her former allies and the man who first loved Rhona that she’s capable of leading them in a war for humanity’s survival.

I liked that this book paired the elements of a robot/artificial intelligence uprising and … Continue reading

Review: When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell

whenmountainsmoveWhen Mountains Move
Julie Cantrell
David C. Cook / Thomas Nelson

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Millie and Bump set off for Colorado and a new life together. Leaving Mississippi is all Millie ever wanted, but it seems the dark memories she thought to escape have followed her. With the memory of what Bill Miller did still hanging over her, Millie isn’t sure she can ever accept her husband’s love, and she’s not sure the past will stay buried long enough for her to try.

As Millie’s new life begins to unravel, her Choctaw grandmother arrives. She anchors Millie with the roots of family and tradition and teaches her the healing power of forgiveness.

Just like Cantrell’s debut, Into … Continue reading