The Best Books Ever

Aru Shah and the End of Time By  Roshani Chokshi Published on March 27th 2018 Published by: Disney/Rick Riordan Presents Source: Publisher Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from their latest archaeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur? One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again. But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it i...

Jericho River By  David W. Tollen Published 05 September 2105 Published by Winifred Press Source: The Cadence Group History isn't names and dates -- it's an adventure story. And so is The Jericho River. Both a novel and a history of Western Civilization, it's won multiple awards, including first place at the London Book Festival and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The Jericho River flows through a magical world shaped by myth and history. Young Jason Gallo sails the river on a dangerous quest to rescue his estranged father. He battles minotaurs and pirates, flees barbarians, stumbles into mummies' tombs, and outwits fairies, philosophers, and scientists. Along the way, he finds love and betrayal, faces the legacy of a broken family -- and flees a hidden foe who threatens all he holds dear. But Jason's tale is more than an adventure story. The river flows like a timeline, carrying the young man through historic lands -- Sumer, Babylonia, ancient G...

We're pleased to present a review today for Karen Kincy's Clockwork Menagerie! Make sure you visit the other stops on the tour for other posts and reviews! Clockwork Menagerie (Shadows of Asphodel #2.5) By  Karen Kincy Published on September 1st 2015 Published by Curiosity Quills Press Source: Publisher 1914. Konstantin would love to hide in his laboratory and dissect the clockwork dragon captured from Russia, but the Archmages of Vienna have other plans. He finds himself shipped off to St. Petersburg as the scientific attaché to an ambassador. His orders? Look, but don't touch. Of course, he considers this an impossible request with so much enemy technomancy to explore. To make matters worse, Konstantin has to work with the dashing zeppelin commander Himmel, a man who should also be untouchable. They can't act on the smoldering attraction between them without risking it all. Faced with an illegal relationship and a devious rival technomancer, Kon...

Black Ice By  Susan Krinard Published on August 12th 2014 Published by Tor Books Source: Publisher New York Times bestselling author Susan Krinard continues the thrilling urban fantasy series that began with Mist in Black Ice. Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie known as Mist one of the only survivors. Or so she thought. The trickster god Loki has reappeared in San Francisco, and he has big plans for modern-day Earth. With few allies and fewer resources—but the eyes of the gods and goddesses of an old world upon her—it’s up to Mist to stop him before history repeats itself. Oh Midgard, so full of people and references I still have yet to understand!  This time around, it was not nearly as bad as the first book in the series, Mist .  However, if you did not have the strong urge to pick up a Norse...

Alpha Goddess By  Amalie Howard Published on March 18th, 2014 Published by Sky Pony Press Source: publisher In Serjana Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of existence. Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos. A chaos that Azrath, the Asura Lord of Death, hopes to use to unleash hell on earth. Torn between reconciling her past and present, Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed. But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor, Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her opposing halves and her attracti...

Queen of the Tearling By Erika Johansen Published on July 8, 2014 Published by Harper Source: Publisher On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen’s Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon—from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic—to prevent her from wearing the crown. Despite her royal blood, Kelsea feels like nothing so much as an insecure girl, a child called upon to lead a people and a kingd...

Stolen Songbird By  Danielle L. Jensen Published on April 1st 2014 Published by Strange Chemistry Source: Publisher For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy... For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined. Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity. But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and m...

Fractured Fairy Tales of the Twilight Zone By  J. Cafesin Published on December 13th 2013 Published by Entropy Press Source: the author Fractured Fairy tales meets The Twilight Zone in this short story collection of four uniquely captivating, edgy, fantastical tales, each with a powerful message that lingers long after the reads... 1. In Finnegus Boggs, Confessions of a Marid, Djinn, the genie grants two Oakland punks a chance to save the other's life. 2. Hawk and Megan learn a valuable life lesson about love in Bird's Eye View. 3. The Activation is a cautionary tale for bickering children, and the parents who fail to silence them. 4. Sylverster McCain travels a sliver of light to reset Faith's path in life in The Morality Police. If you would like to watch my face as I explain how much I did not like this collection, please feel free to watch the video below. The first story in this collection of 4 short stories is Finnegus Boggs.  I hated it.  I h...

A Breath of Frost By Alyxandra Harvey Published on January 7th 2014 Published by: Walker Childrens In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies. Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away? A long time ago, I read the first two books in the authors series, The...

The Third By  Zhu Hsia Published on March 21st, 2014 Published by KONG Publishing House Source: e-ARC Ji Sun, heir to the powerful Lee clan of bloodsuckers brings disgrace to her kind by not only mixing with humans, but leaving the clan to marry one, and she is banished for ever from her family. After five years, Ji Sun’s happiness is threatened. For although she has no intention of returning to her life as a bloodsucker, she has not yet renounced her inheritance, for to do so is to risk stigmatization and a much shortened life. However, Mun Oh, her younger brother, now fifteen years old and already a formidable bloodsucker, is ordered by his parents to visit his sister and demand that she goes through the Ritual of Renunciation in his favor. But the spoiled and capricious Mun Oh, accustomed to getting his own way the minute he wants something, and his teeth into any human he fancies, encounters more obstacles than he bargains for, especially from Ji Sun’s t...

Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest By A. Lee Martinez Published on July 16th 2013 Published by Orbit Source: Netgalley Witness the epic battle of the cyclops! Visit the endangered dragon preserve! Please, no slaying. Solve the mystery of The Mystery Cottage, if you dare! Buy some knick knacks from The Fates! They might come in handy later. On a road trip across an enchanted America, Helen and Troy will discover all this and more. If the curse placed upon them by an ancient god doesn't kill them or the pack of reluctant orc assassins don't catch up to them, Helen and Troy might reach the end their journey in one piece, where they might just end up destroying the world. Or at least a state or two. A minotaur girl, an all-American boy, a three-legged dog, and a classic car are on the road to adventure, where every exit leads to adventure. Whether they like it or not. This was such a fun read!  It took longer to read than I'd wanted to, solely because ...

Mist By  Susan Krinard Published on July 16th, 2013 Published by Tor Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors. Or so she thought. When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years. Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bi...

The Heavens Rise By Christopher Rice Published on October 15th 2013 Published by Gallery Books Source: Netgalley New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice brilliantly conjures the shadowed terrors of the Louisiana bayou—where three friends confront a deadly, ancient evil rising to the surface—in this intense and atmospheric new supernatural thriller. It’s been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred…and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction…and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre—and very deadly—abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium. An accomplished surgeon, Niquette’s father dreamed of transforming the dense...

Mortal Fire By  Elizabeth Knox Published on June 11th 2013 Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) Source: Publisher Sixteen-year-old Canny Mochrie's vacation takes a turn when she stumbles upon a mysterious and enchanting valley, occupied almost entirely by children who can perform a special type of magic that tells things how to be stronger and better than they already are. As Canny studies the magic more carefully, she realizes that she not only understands it--she can perform the magic, too, so well that it feels like it has always been a part of her. With the help of an alluring seventeen-year-old boy who is held hostage by a spell that is now more powerful than the people who first placed it, Canny figures out the secrets of this valley and of her own past. I first started reading Mortal Fire way back at the beginning of summer, and it was a book that I just immediately took my time with.  It's very slow moving at first and full of detail, so it wasn...

The Mephisto Mark (Only You) By  Trinity Faegen Published on September 24th 2013 Published by Pink Publishing, LLC Source: Publisher Orphaned at six and sent to live with abusive relatives in Bucharest, Mariah learned early in life to box up violent, agonizing memories and put them in permanent mental storage. Now almost nineteen, she has a paying job, a tiny apartment, and a plan to attend university. She loves her independence and is steadily overcoming her past, but when an enigmatic stranger walks into the pub where she works and the trajectory of her life changes yet again, she begins to wonder if she’ll run out of mental shelf space. The only females unafraid of the Mephisto brothers are the extremely rare Anabo, born without Original Sin. Over one hundred years ago, Phoenix was first to find one, but he made a fatal mistake and she was murdered by his oldest brother and enemy, Eryx. Phoenix soldiered through the next century wrapped up in grief and guilt, his o...

Perfect Ruin By Lauren DeStefano Published on October 1, 2013 Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers Source: Publisher for review On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil. Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will fin...

Sorrow's Knot By  Erin Bow Published on October 29th 2013 Published by Arthur A. Levine Books Source: Netgalley In the world of Sorrow’s Knot, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry and nearly invisible, something deadly. The dead can only be repelled or destroyed with magically knotted cords and yarns. The women who tie these knots are called binders. Otter is the daughter of Willow, a binder of great power. She’s a proud and privileged girl who takes it for granted that she will be a binder some day herself. But when Willow’s power begins to turn inward and tear her apart, Otter finds herself trapped with a responsibility she’s not ready for, and a power she no longer wants. Warning! When a book's title includes the word sorrow in it, take that crap seriously .  This book is heartbreaking and has joined the club of books to have made me cry while on public transportation.  Congratulations, Erin Bow, you are now a...

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales Edited By  Melissa Marr & Tim Pratt Published on October 22nd 2013 Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Source: Netgalley The best writers of our generation retell the classics. Literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories, ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them; ones that have become ingrained in modern culture; and ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and then reassemble them for a new generation of readers. Today's most acclaimed authors use their own unique styles to rebuild twelve timeless stories. This anthology is a collection of short stories that are often retellings of classic stories, both fairy tales and otherwise.  There are some big names in here -- I'm fairly sure I requested this one solely...