Bennett Witch Chronicles Release Day

Genre:  YA/NA Vampire

Bennett Witch Chronicles' Website

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Description (taken from provided materials):

With her magic restored, her best friends living happily ever after together as humans, and the love of her life waiting patiently for her on the other side, Bonnie Bennett is not going to just sit around and let her life pass her by. She’s off to see the world! Join Bonnie as she journeys around the globe, encountering supernaturals in the most unexpected of places.

SIXTEEN STANDALONE BOOKS.

SIXTEEN BONNIE BENNETT STORIES.

ONE SERIES YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS.

This series definitely caught my eyes considering I'm still not over the Vampire Diaries ending...  I'm currently reading one of the stories in this series, and I'm really enjoying it.  Definitely check it out!

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

Genre:  Adult Detective

Stephenie Meyer's website

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Description (taken from Stephenie Meyer's website):

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

I feel like I need to admit that I was a Twilight fan.  Nevermind the fact that there may have been flaws.  In my teenage mind, those books were golden.  So of course when I found out there was another Stephenie Meyer book out there, I had to pick it up and see if I still held onto some pieces of my teenage mind.

Alex is on the run from a super-secret agency that helped get rid of terrorists and other threats.  She was a specialist who helped break people in interrogations using chemical warfare instead of physical warfare.  But the agency that employed her decided to permanently cut her loose and messed up.  So she's spent years on the run trying to figure out what happened.  Then a peace offering comes up:  one more interrogation in exchange for her life.  But when she meets the man to interrogate, not everything adds up correctly.  Sometimes, things sound too good to be real.

Let me just point out one glaring flaw in this whole novel.  I'm warning you now that I'm giving a spoiler.  Change the page if you don't want this...  Who on earth decides to fall in love with their torturer?  It's worse than Stockholm syndrome...  Now that I've got that off my chest, this book was easy to fall into.  Sure, it was a really big book, but it flowed well.  And the characters caught my attention.  Minus the initial flaw, I was sold.  But it did kind of feel like a cheap romance novel thrown into an intense detective situation.  But I guess, who cares?

Meh...  Some people are going to love it.  And some people are going to hate it.  Onto the next one.

A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray

Genre:  YA Sci-Fi Romance

Firebird Series, Book 3

Claudia Gray's website

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Note:  This is the third book in a series.  You have officially been warned.

Description (taken from Claudia Gray's website):

A million universes. A million dangers. One destiny.

The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud since she first traveled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation.

Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done to him, but despite Marguerite’s efforts to help, Paul may never be the same again.

So it’s up to Marguerite alone to stop the destruction of the multiverse. Billions of lives are at stake. The risks have never been higher. And Triad has unleashed its ultimate weapon: another dimension’s Marguerite—wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead.

In the epic conclusion to Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed. It’s a battle of the Marguerites . . . and only one can win.

I love the whole concept of having alternate realities with the same people but different circumstances.  And it's how we react to these circumstances that ultimately shape who we are.  Just as the main Marguerite in this book is good, there's also an evil Marguerite that is willing to destroy the multiverse.  It kind of points out that there is good and bad in each of us.

Anyways, Marguerite is ready to stop the Triad's plan of destroying universes in order to save somone dear to their hearts.  But what she doesn't realize is that their biggest weapon also happens to be an alternate copy of herself.  So how does she fight herself or make her see reason?  And manage to keep Paul by her side?  The man that once made her believe in true love and destiny only to watch it all crumple up in her face in one of the different realities.  Can she stop herself and this other world from annihilating all of the other worlds?

The concept is cool.  And the whole premise of trying to determine true love across universes is awesome.  Or well complicated...  But this has turned out to be one of my favorite series.  Seeing all of the different worlds and experiencing old ones.  It's as if you could see your life from a different outcome.  A series well-loved and worth it in my opinion.

If you're into the whole multi-universe thing, give this one a try.  If it peaks your interest, then pick it up...

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Genre:  YA Dystopian

The Maze Runner Series, Book 2

James Dashner's website

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Note:  This is the second book in a series.  You've been warned...

Description (taken from James Dashner's website):

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.

This one was definitely not exactly like the movie, unlike the first book.  I was kind of excited to see that movie led me down an entirely different direction than the book was starting out.  The Gladers have gotten out of the Maze and found shelter.  But in reality, they haven't.  Instead, they will undergo another test where you either pass or you die.  All bets are off in this high risk dystopian world.  But WICKED is trying to save the world by putting these boys through hell.

Honestly, I was happy to start this story with a new setting to see what happened.  And while the story did evolve more, it still felt exactly like the first book.  We're in a maze completing a mission.  Only it's a desert town instead of a maze.  And there are psychos on the loose.  I guess I have mixed feelings about this.  Yes, the story was easy to follow.  But no, I don't really like Thomas.  I just don't.  But I'm still going to finish the series.

Maybe with the next book, I'll be able to say I read it before the movie came out.  Although I'm worried it's going to follow closer to the movie since the second book obviously didn't.  Meh, it's a dystopian series...

Witch's Pyre by Josephine Angelini

Genre:  YA Fantasy Romance

Worldwalker Series, Book 3

Josephine Angelini's website

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Note:  This is the third and final book in a series.  You've been warned.

Description (taken from Josephine Angelini's website):

Two versions of the same world. Two versions of the same girl.
Lily Proctor has come a long way from the weak, sickly girl she used to be. She has gained power as a witch and a leader, found her way home, chosen to face battle again, and (after losing her first love and being betrayed by her new love) she has learned more about loss and grief than she ever wanted to know.
Thrust once again into a society different from anything they have ever seen, Lily and her coven are determined to find answers―to find a new path to victory, a way to defeat the monstrous Woven without resorting to nuclear weapons or becoming a tyrannical mass murderer like her alternate self, Lillian. But sometimes winning requires sacrifices . . . and when the only clear path to victory lies at Lillian's side, what price will Lily be willing to pay?

A series I fell in love with but over the years couldn't remember well enough.  This third book picks up right where the second one left off.  And if you can't remember exactly what happened in the last book, then you're kind of lost for the first half of the book.

Lily has left Rowan in his own miserable exile.  And now she's teeming up with the evil Lilian to help get rid of the Woven.  Wait a second, I can't exactly remember what happened in the last book.  Woven definitely rings a bell, but I'm super lost with where they belong in the plot.  Oh right, I'll catch up once I'm halfway in this story.  But wait, this whole plotline of being angry at the new love and losing the old love, wow I forgot a lot.  And it just didn't make sense to me.  But for some reason, I was still hooked in the story...  Must have been the good writing.

Yeah, this is a fun fantasy series to read.  But I'm definitely going to recommend reading them one right after the other, so you don't have the same problems I had.

Deity by Jennifer L Armentrout

Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance

Covenant Series, Book 3

Jennifer L Armentrout's website

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Note:  This is the third book in a series.  You've been warned.

Description (taken from Jennifer L Armentrout's website):

History is on repeat, and things didn’t go so well the last time.
Alexandria isn’t sure she’s going to make it to her eighteenth birthday–to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she’s a goner… and so is Aiden.
If that’s not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time “training”–which really is just Seth’s code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time–she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.
But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she’s caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed… and destroyed.
Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate…

The third book in a series.  One where the love triangle cements itself, and you begin to take a side.  And we all get sick of one of the love interests.  Just your typical paranormal love triangle here.  But the story begins to evolve more.  Remember how this paranormal series is based on mythology?  Yeah, we get some more mythology happening here.

So I can't truly give the best review here.  Number one, I love paranormal romance novels.  So of course, I'm into this series.  But number two, it's your typical paranormal romance.  I haven't really found too many new things.  But the ending had me hooked and dying to read the next one.  So yes, same old, same old.  But I really like this same old.

Honestly, you'll know after the first book in this series if you want to stick with it.  But I definitely will tell die-hard young adult paranormal romance readers to pick this series up.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Six of Crows Series, Book 2

Leigh Bardugo's website

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Note:  This is the second book in a series.  Fair warning...

Description (taken from Leigh Bardugo's website):

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

Back in the Grisha world, one of my favorite fantasy worlds.  The heist that Kaz and his crew pulled off in the last story went terribly wrong.  And this story picks up immediately after that happens.  It follows the six people who are determined to get payback and money for their troubles.  Only thing is the whole world is watching this little city because everyone wants a piece of the drug: jurda parem.  Will Kaz and his crew be able to protect themselves and their city or will they sell out?

This book has a lot of action and so many angles that you're dying for more.  My only regret is not reading it closer to the first book and that whole other series.  I feel like there were a lot of things I couldn't remember and was kind of missing the insider knowledge.  Anywho, you pretty much fall in love with the characters.  But you want to know the reason why this isn't a five-pointer for me?  I was not a fan of the ending.  It ticked me off.  Like really ticked me off when I realized it was the last one in the series.  But I can't give it away (those who have read the book could probably understand my anger).

If you're a fan of fantasy, start with the first Grisha series and then pick this one up.  If you couldn't get into the first series, then just dive into this one.  While there is romance in this story, it's not the main plotline like the other series.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Genre:  YA Historical Fiction
Stalking Jack the Ripper Series, Book 1

Kerri Maniscalco's website

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Description (taken from Kerri Maniscalco's website):

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

Audrey Rose lives in a historical England where she is growing up to be a society girl.  She is doing everything that a wealthy and privileged English girl should do.  Well, except for helping her uncle dissect cadavers.  And helping him with solving deaths and crimes.  So it's no surprise that when Jack the Ripper begins to appear, she becomes intrigued...

So I can't really go into too much detail to this story.  Because most of us are very familiar with the unsolved mystery of Jack the Ripper.  And this fictional story tells it from Audrey's point of view.  And as much as I had it pegged from the very beginning, I was still disappointed with the ending.  And one of the things that angered me greatly was how many times Audrey was told she shouldn't be doing something because of her female status.  I just got tired of it a little.

This was a decent detective story to follow from start to finish.  And it does give a nice twist at the end.  I'd suggest checking it out if it peaks your interests still.

A World Without You by Beth Revis

Genre:  YA Contemporary

Beth Revis' website

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Description (taken from Beth Revis' website):

Can Bo live in a world without Sofia?

Bo cannot imagine a world without his girlfriend Sofia. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to. Even though he accidentally got her stuck in the past, he’s attending an elite school for kids with powers that should help him gain better control of his time traveling abilities and save her. Although the appearance of some nosy government officials at the secret school may cause some problems…

Phoebe can all too easily imagine a world without her brother Bo. Without him, her mother wouldn’t retreat into herself with worry. Her father wouldn’t lock himself away and pretend like Bo doesn’t have a problem. And she would have a chance to be a normal girl, not the sister to a boy whose paranoid delusions make him think that he has super powers and can travel through time.

As Phoebe learns to speak her heart in a family that uses silence to ignore its problems, Bo must face the fact that if his super powers aren’t real, neither are his chances to save Sofia.

Bo goes to a school for gifted kids.  They all have super powers, and he's accidentally left Sofia hundreds of years in the past.  But the story starts with her funeral, and Bo can't figure out why everyone's acting as if she's truly gone.  Do they not have enough faith in his powers to go back in time and save her?  Because he's going to save her.

Phoebe is Bo's younger sister who has had to live in his shadow.  Where he gets the attention and the treatment for his needs, she's expected to be the perfect child.  She's getting the grades, setting herself up for college, and living her parents' dreams.  However just once, she wants to be able to let go and live a life of uncertainty like Bo can.  She doesn't want the responsibility of being the perfect child living in silence anymore.

This book was very slow going for me, and I had a very hard time being in Bo's mind.  It was hard and mind-boggling.  I don't know how Beth Revis was able to write his character.  It isn't hard for me to say I related to the sister.  I was one of those 'perfect' kids trying to live the 'perfect' life.  And no matter what kinds of issues you might be dealing with, you're always going to feel overshadowed by your siblings.  I was the same way with my brother and then later on with my much younger siblings.  But this story dealt more with mental issues and how everyone affected tried to deal.  And it does point out things broken.  And your heart slowly begins to melt as Bo tries to piece together what happened to Sofia.  It's just a sad one for me that was hard for me to deal with.

These contemporary books are the reason I dislike contemporary but at the same time have to read one every once in a good while just because they're good.  And they face those unpleasant issues that we have a tendency to bury as fast as possible.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Genre:  Adult Fantasy

The Nevernight Chronicles, Book 1

Jay Kristoff's website

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Description (taken from Jay Kristoff's website):

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

I can't do one of my normal reviews for this book.  I've sat on writing this review for a couple of weeks now because I don't know how to start it.  So maybe I start with this book took me quite a while to get into and finish however it was by far, my favorite book I've read this year.

It is set in a fantasy world with its own religion, its own gods, and its own mysticism.  And the narrator will give you fun-filled facts throughout the story whenever he references something in this world.  And Mia?  She's your standard heroine who had a brutal childhood but is seeking revenge.  Everything she does is to better position herself to kill the people who killed her father.  But she has a heart.  And in order to be an assassin, you must deaden the heart.

I loved this fantasy!  And even though the plot was right in front of me, my mind was too busy enjoying the little tidbits and details along the way that I totally missed it.  I need the next book in this series now.  Just now.

Fan of fantasy?  Read this one!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Genre:  YA Dystopian

The Maze Runner Series, Book 1

James Dashner's website

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Description (taken from James Dashner's website):

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

In the world Thomas enters, no one remembers the past and there's walls that protect them from monsters.  But when the walls are open, he finds an endless maze surrounds them.  If only he could remember his life before he entered the Glade because he somehow thinks he knows the answer.  He's going to find his way out of the Maze.

I'm not going to do a typical book review here because I need to be honest.  I saw the movie before reading the book.  And while my husband stated the book was very different from the book, I kind of disagree.  Sure, there's a major plot line that's missing in the movie, but the movie is about visual effects while the book is more about being inside the mind.  It's explainable.  But I don't really feel like I got anything different from the book.  And Thomas' character kind of bothered me.

I'm a little ho-hum about this one.  But I'm planning to pick up the second one soon.  And hopefully I'll read the third before the third movie comes out.  Then it might be an untainted review...