{Review} The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #1
Release Date: Jul 8 / 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

{Review} Reckoning - Kerry Wilkinson

Reckoning by Kerry Wilkinson
Genre: YA Dystopia
Release Date: Jul 1 / 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

One girl. One chance. One destiny.

In the village of Martindale, hundreds of miles north of the new English capital of Windsor, sixteen-year-old Silver Blackthorne takes the Reckoning. This coming-of- age test not only decides her place in society – Elite, Member, Inter or Trog – but also determines that Silver is to become an Offering for King Victor.But these are uncertain times and no one really knows what happens to the teenagers who disappear into Windsor Castle. Is being an Offering the privilege everyone assumes it to be, or do the walls of the castle have something to hide? Trapped in a maze of ancient corridors, Silver finds herself in a warped world of suspicion where it is difficult to know who to trust and who to fear. The one thing Silver does know is that she must find a way out . . . The heart-stopping first book in a new trilogy by UK author Kerry Wilkinson, Reckoning is the story of one girl's determination to escape the whims of a cruel king, and what she must do to survive against all odds.

{Review} The Summer I Wasn't Me - Jessica Verdi

The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: Apr 1 / 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Lexi has a secret.

She never meant for her mom to find out. And now she's afraid that what's left of her family is going to fall apart for good.

Lexi knows she can fix everything. She can change. She can learn to like boys. New Horizons summer camp has promised to transform her life, and there's nothing she wants more than to start over.

But sometimes love has its own path...

{Review} The Impossible Knife of Memory - Laurie Halse Anderson

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: Jan 7 / 2014
Publisher: Viking Juvenile

For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.

{Review} Sekret - Lindsay Smith

Sekret by Lindsay Smith
Genre: YA Paranormal / Historical Fiction
Release Date: Apr 1 / 2014
Publisher: Roaring Book Press

An empty mind is a safe mind.

Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.

{Mini Review} Don't Even Think About It - Sarah Mlynowski

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
Genre: YA Contemporary / Paranormal
Release Date: Mar 11 / 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.

So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

*A copy was provided by the publisher for review*

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley!

Don't Even Think About It is a pretty light and fun contemporary about what happened to a class of kids that got telepathy from vaccine. The way the story was narrated was quite different with "we" and "us", but it was easy to get used to. When the students suddenly developed ESP, everyone can suddenly listen in on everyone's thoughts and that way all the secrets were revealed. My favourite characters were probably BJ and Olivia. BJ was an interesting character because he didn't actually think differently than he acts. Olivia is quite and shy but now she's forced to share what she thinks with everyone. She also learns to be more open and grew as a person. I'd recommend this to people who just wants to read something short and fun!

{Review} Nil - Lynne Matson

Nil by Lynne Matson
Genre: YA Dystopia
Release Date: Mar 4 / 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt

On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days--to escape, or you die.

Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.

{Novella Review} Fracture Me - Tahereh Mafi

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me #2.5
Genre: YA Dystopian
Release Date: Dec 17 / 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins

In this electrifying sixty-page companion novella to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, discover the fate of the Omega Point rebels as they go up against The Reestablishment. Set during and soon after the final moments of Unravel Me, Fracture Me is told from Adam's perspective.

As Omega Point prepares to launch an all-out assault on The Reestablishment soldiers stationed in Sector 45, Adam's focus couldn't be further from the upcoming battle. He's reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend's life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James's safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It's time for war.

On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam's newly discovered half brother, won't be that easy. The Reestablishment can't tolerate a rebellion, and they'll do anything to crush the resistance . . . including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.

Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi's epic dystopian series. It's a novella not to be missed by fans who crave action-packed stories with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu.

- My review of Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5)

Fracture Me is a novella told from the perspective of Adam. After Unravel Me, I didn't like Adam much. I found him clingy and annoying. I think Fracture Me was suppose to make me like him better. Well, I can see that he has priorities in the war and that he doesn't want to lose anyone that he loves. It didn't make me like or dislike him more. My opinion of him stayed the same. This novella picked up right where Unravel left, with Warner leaving Omega Point. Having a glimpse into Adam's mind is nice but it didn't feel that crucial to the whole story.

{Review} Grim - Various Authors

Grim by Various Authors edited by Christine Johnson
Genre: YA Fairy Tale Retellings
Release Date: Feb 25 / 2014
Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today:

Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Julie Kagawa, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Kimberly Derting, Myra McEntire, Malinda Lo, Sarah Rees-Brennan, Jackson Pearce, Christine Johnson, Jeri Smith Ready, Shaun David Hutchinson, Saundra Mitchell, Sonia Gensler, Tessa Gratton, Jon Skrovan

Two things:

New bleed setting so you need to add more to the top and bottom.

No copy in Joint.

{Review} Tin Star - Cecil Castellucci

Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci
Genre: YA Science Fiction / Dystopia
Release Date: Feb 25 / 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.

When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind.

{Review} Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy - Karen Foxlee

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
By Karen Foxlee
Genre: MG Fantasy
Release Date: Jan 28 / 2014
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

A modern-day fairy tale set in a mysterious museum that is perfect for readers of Roald Dahl and Blue Balliett.

Unlikely heroine Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard doesn't believe in anything that can't be proven by science. She and her sister Alice are still grieving for their dead mother when their father takes a job in a strange museum in a city where it always snows. On her very first day in the museum Ophelia discovers a boy locked away in a long forgotten room. He is a prisoner of Her Majesty the Snow Queen. And he has been waiting for Ophelia's help.

As Ophelia embarks on an incredible journey to rescue the boy everything that she believes will be tested. Along the way she learns more and more about the boy's own remarkable journey to reach her and save the world.

A story within a story, this a modern day fairytale is about the power of friendship, courage and love, and never ever giving up.

{Review} Defy - Sara B. Larson

Defy by Sara B. Larson
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: Jan 7 / 2014
Publisher: Scholastic

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

{Review} Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer - Katie Alender

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender
Genre: YA Mystery
Release Date: Sept 24 / 2013
Publisher: Scholastic

Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger...

Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

{Review} The 100 - Kass Morgan

The 100 by Kass Morgan
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Release Date: Sept 3 / 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books

In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust--and even love--again.

{Mini Review} Degrees of Wrong - Anna Scarlett

Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett
Genre: Adult Sci-fi / Romance
Release Date: Aug 28 / 2012
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

This time, the straight-and-narrow path could be the road to ruin.

Dr. Elyse Morgan’s mission: find the cure to the HTN4 virus. The compensation, courtesy of the United Nations: a lab stocked with hi-tech goodies, limitless resources and enough chocolate to make her rear look like a cellulite farm. Bonus: she gets to live.

Rescued (kidnapped) and secreted (imprisoned) on an undersea warship, Elyse adjusts to her assumed identity as a cadet with the finesse of a toeless ballerina. Her sulfuric temper and blatant insubordination capture the unwanted attention of the ship’s captain, the gorgeous, infuriating, engaged Nicoli Marek.

Elyse would rather perform her own autopsy than become the other woman, but Nicoli—who’s as full of himself as he is of secrets—regards his impending marriage as a mere political transaction. And Elyse as fair game.

As Elyse’s suspicions about the UN’s true agenda mount along with her attraction to the relentless, chronically shirtless captain, she must choose between the murky path to everything she’s ever wanted, or the squeaky-clean path of self-sacrifice—which could mean taking the secrets of the virus with her to the grave.

Warning: Features a strong, chocolate-loving heroine who takes no prisoners on the way to saving the world from an epidemic and winning a captain’s heart.

{Review} Pawn - Aimee Carter

Pawn by Aimee Carter
Genre: YA Dystopia
Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #1
Release Date: Nov 26 / 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

You can be a VII. If you give up everything.

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

{Review} Countdown - Michelle Rowen

Countdown by Michelle Rowen
Genre: YA Dystopia
Release Date: Oct 1 / 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

3 seconds left to live. Once the countdown starts, it cannot be stopped.

2 pawns thrown into a brutal underground reality game.

Kira Jordan survived her family's murder and months on plague-devastated city streets with hard-won savvy and a low-level psi ability. She figures she can handle anything. Until she wakes up in a barren room, chained next to the notorious Rogan Ellis.

1 reason Kira will never, ever trust Rogan. Even though both their lives depend on it.

Their every move is controlled and televised for a vicious exclusive audience. And as Kira's psi skill unexpectedly grows and Rogan's secrets prove evermore deadly, Kira's only chance of survival is to risk trusting him as much as her instincts. Even if that means running head-on into the one trap she can't escape.

GAME OVER.

{Review} The Book of Lost Things - Cynthia Voigt

The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt
Series: Mister Max #1
Genre: MG Mystery
Release Date: Sept 10 / 2013
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Max Starling's theatrical father likes to say that at twelve a boy is independent. He also likes to boast (about his acting skills, his wife's acting skills, a fortune only his family knows is metaphorical), but more than anything he likes to have adventures. Max Starling's equally theatrical mother is not a boaster but she enjoys a good adventure as much as her husband. When these two disappear, what can sort-of-theatrical Max and his not-at-all theatrical grandmother do? They have to wait to find out something, anything, and to worry, and, in Max's case, to figure out how to earn a living at the same time as he maintains his independence. This is the first of three books, all featuring the mysterious Mister Max.

{Movie Review} Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures
Release Date: Feb 14 / 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: PG-13
Length: 124 mins

In Gatlin, South Caroline, the teenager Ethan Wate dreams on leaving the conservative town and go to the college. Ethan has dreams with a mysterious girl and when he meets the fifteen year-old newcomer Lena Duchannes in his class, he realizes that she is the girl of his dreams. The outcast Lena is rejected by the mates since she is the granddaughter of Macon Ravenwood, who is considered a worshiper of the devil by the superstitious dwellers. Ethan gives a ride to Lena and they fall in love with each other. Soon he learns that Lena is a good witch that on her sixteenth birthday will be claimed by the light and the darkness. She may stay in the light, but is cursed to change to the dark side if she falls in love with him. Further, her evil mother Sarafine is a caster that is pushing Lena to the dark side. Now they are seeking a spell to save their doomed love. Will the lovers succeed?

{Mini Review} Bystander - James Preller

Bystander by James Preller
Genre: YA realistic fiction
Release Date: Sept 29 / 2009
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Eric is the new kid in seventh grade. Griffin wants to be his friend. When you’re new in town, it’s hard to know who to hang out with—and who to avoid. Griffin seems cool, confident, and popular.

But something isn't right about Griffin. He always seems to be in the middle of bad things. And if Griffin doesn't like you, you'd better watch your back. There might be a target on it.

As Eric gets drawn deeper into Griffin’s dark world, he begins to see the truth about Griffin: he’s a liar, a bully, a thief. Eric wants to break away, do the right thing. But in one shocking moment, he goes from being a bystander . . . to the bully’s next victim.

I've never read many books about bullying before so this was my first. Eric is the new kid in seventh grade and Griffin seems to be a good friend. But later, Eric slowly finds out how Griffin is really like and what a bully he was. Eric later tries to do stuff about it which works but I feel like the issue isn't really resolved in the end. Eric just stopped being the target, that's all. I think this book should've went more in depth for the bullying as it's something that kids deal with every day. This is a quick and light read about bullying that I'm sure people will enjoy.