Review – The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood
By: Melissa Albert
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Series: The Hazel Wood
Rating:


I am quite far behind in reading this book, but I am certainly glad that I finally picked this up. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a truly fantastic novel about a teenage girl in search for mother, the mysterious Hazel Wood where her grandmother once lived, and the legacy of her great storyteller grandmother herself.

Review – Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

Dreamland Burning
By: Jennifer Latham
Release Date: February 21, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating:


It has been a long time since a book has struck me in the sort of way Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham struck me. It’s the sort of book that is devoured, read with the sort of all-consuming fervor that makes a person look up bewildered when the phone rings, or wondering when exactly the sun set. I loved this book. This book is important. It matters.

Review – Lumberjanes Vol. 1

Lumberjanes Vol. 1
By: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Faith Hicks, Brooke A. Allen
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Series: Lumberjanes
Award: Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best New Series & Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)(2015); Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Graphic Novels & Comics (2015)
Rating:


I’d recently heard some very good things about Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Faith Hicks, and Brooke Allen. When I found copies available in my local library I immediately delved in. This is a fun fantasy/mystery series that follows a group of girls at a Lumberjane sleepaway camp. The forest they’re camping in holds secrets, though, and seems to be filled with magical creatures. The story follows these girls as they go on various adventures and try to solve the mysteries of the woods.

Review – Humanity’s Hope by Pembroke Sinclair

Humanity's Hope
By: Pembroke Sinclair
Website: http://pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com/
Release Date: July 21, 2017
Publisher: Stitched Smile Publication
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


I’m not sure if things one genuinely enjoys should be called guilty pleasures, but zombie novels would definitely that category for me. I’m always up for a good zombie story. Well, I was offered the chance to read Humanity’s Hope by Pembroke Sinclair, which is, you guessed it, a zombie novel. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Caleb is a teenager just trying to survive in post zombie infested world. It’s safe in the city, or safer than most other places. He has a job, a place to live, and with the help of his psychiatrist is trying to slowly move forward. But there are rumors of experiments done in secret to find a cure for zombie virus, and when a neighbor is killed in an unheard of zombie attack in the city Caleb begins to wonder if there’s any truth to this. Soon he finds himself on the run, apparently immune to the virus. He’s fought zombies before. But humans are stronger and infinitely more clever.

Review – The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

The Language of Thorns:
By: Leigh Bardugo
Website: http://www.leighbardugo.com/m/
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Imprint
Series: Grisha Verse
Rating:


The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic is, at heart, a book of fairy tales. These stories are set in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha universe, the same world in which The Grisha Trilogy and the Six of Crows duology are set. Instead of high stakes adventures, we are given several fairy tales that take place in unspecified times within this world.

New Release! – Warcross by Marie Lu

Warcross
By: Marie Lu
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Series: Warcross #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


After a major reading slump in September and October, I’m back to my normal reading pace and have tackled several novels that have been sitting around for much too long. The first of these is a fan favorite and one I’d been meaning to read for a long time. I’ve done it. I’ve finally read Warcross by Marie Lu.

Review – Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

Nyxia
By: Scott Reintgen
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Series: The Nyxia Triad #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


When I first heard of Nyxia by Scott Reintgen, I expected a grand space adventure, with young protagonists exploring new planets and encountering new civilizations. What I received was nothing of the sort, instead being another teenagers pitted against one another in a long competition. That’s all well and good. I like those plots just as much as the next person. But while Nyxia has a story that has promise, it ultimately proved to be quite tedious and dull.

New Release! Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

Mask of Shadows
By: Linsey Miller
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Series: (Untitled) #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


When I first saw the description for Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller, I was immediately intrigued. The book was compared to the works of Leigh Bardugo (whom I love) and Sarah J. Maas (whose work I bafflingly have never read). It features a gender fluid main character, a thief bent on revenge who is auditioning to become one of the queen’s assassins, a group known as the Left Hand. The character sounded very interesting, hints of an interesting backstory, and plenty intrigue and action. Needless to say, I was sold!

Review – your name. by Matoko Shinkai

your name.
By: Matoko Shinkai
Illustrator: Ranmaru Kotone
Translator: Taylor Engel
Website: http://shinkaimakoto.jp/
Release Date: (Original Japanese) June 18 2016; (English Translation) May 23, 2017
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating:


I almost always read the book before I watch the movie. In this case it happened purely on accident. I wound up picking up a copy of your name. by Makoto Shinkai from Barnes and Noble during a buy two get one free sale.

Review: Siege and Storm (The Grisha, #2)

Seige and Storm (The Grisha, #2)
By: Leigh Bardugo
Website: http://www.leighbardugo.com/index1.html
Release Date: June 4th, 2013
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Series: The Grisha Series
Rating:


I returned to the Grisha series with high hopes and while I liked book two more than book one it was only barely more. Siege and Storm offers a lot to the series but still it was one of those books I liked, not loved. Nonetheless, as I always do, I will finish the series and pick up book three sometime soon and I’m hoping all of my little issues with the story are solved by then because I love this premise and these characters but something, I don’t know what is lacking here for me. Hopefully my brain can sort it out.