Review: What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch

What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tasch

What Wakes the Bells
Elle Tesch
Feiwel & Friends
Published March 11, 2025

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About What Wakes the Bells

Inspired by an ominous Prague legend, What Wakes the Bells is a lavish gothic fantasy by debut author Elle Tesch that is perfect for fans of Adalyn Grace, Margaret Rogerson, and V.E. Schwab.

Built by long-gone Saints, the city of Vaiwyn lives and breathes and bleeds. As a Keeper, Mina knows better than most what her care of Vaiwyn’s bells means for the sentient city. It’s the Strauss family’s thousand-year legacy―prevent the Vespers from ringing, or they will … Continue reading

Review: The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

The Deathly Grimm (The Forest Grimm #2)
Kathryn Purdie
Wednesday Books
Published March 25, 2025

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About The Deathly Grimm

The spellbinding sequel to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling dark fairytale, where our main characters must return to the forest—and its monsters.

The story hasn’t ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the … Continue reading

Review: Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy
Kasey LeBlanc
Balzer + Bray
Published May 14, 2024

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About Flyboy

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the speculative twists of The Night Circus in this standout debut YA novel, about a boy who visits the magic-filled circus of his dreams each night in order to escape his daily reality where his trans identity remains a secret.

After an incident at his school leaves closeted trans teenager Asher Sullivan needing stitches, his mother betrays him in the worst possible way—she sends him to Catholic school for his senior year. Now he has to contend with hideous plaid skirts, cranky nuns, … Continue reading

Review: Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

Bad Graces
Kyrie McCauley
Publisher
Published

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About Bad Graces

Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life … so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning … Continue reading

Review: Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake

Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake

Warrior of Legend (Heromaker #2)
Kendare Blake
Quill Tree Books
Published October 29, 2024

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About Warrior of Legend

Reed is officially a member of the immortal order of the Aristene. She even has a new name: Machianthe. It’s everything she’s ever dreamed of—so why isn’t she happy?

Maybe it’s because every hero she helps can only find glory at the cost of their life. Or maybe it’s because she can’t stop thinking about the prince she left behind.

Now Reed looks for any opportunity to help with low-risk hero’s trials. And a princess looking for a glorious marriage? Nothing could … Continue reading

Review: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple
Alice Walker
Penguin Books
Published December 10, 2019 (Orig. 1982)

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About The Color Purple

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and … Continue reading